k. 













WANDERINGS 



IN SOME OF THE 



WESTERN REPUBLICS 



OF 



A M E R I C A, 



WITH 



REMARKS UPON THE CUTTING OF THE GREAT SHIP CANAL 
THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA. 



BY GEORGE B Y A M, 

Late ^Brd Light Infantry/. 




LOJN^DOJST: 
JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND. 

MDCCCL. 



LONDON : 

SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET, 

COVENT GARDEJf. 






d 



f 



///< 



TO 



LIEUT.-COLOML JAMES FOELONG. E.H. 



AND THE 



FOETY-THIED LIGHT DsFANTRT, 



THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED, 



BY 



THE AUTHOR, 



CONTENTS, 



Page 
INTRODUCTION xi 



CHAPTEE I. 

CHILI — ITS NATUEAL BOUNDAEIES — CLIMATE — FOEM OF 
GOVEENMENT — SEEFDOM OF THE PEONS — THE 
MUEDEE OF DON DIEGO POETALIS — MILITAEY FOECE 1 

CHAPTEE n. 

MINES OF CHILI — VISIT TO A SMELTING ESTABLISH- 
MENT — DIFFICULTIES OF THE EOAD — COOKING BY 
STEAM AT GEEAT ALTITUDES 23 

CHAPTEE III. 

GOLD MINES AND GOLD WASHINGS — HONESTY OF THE 

MULETEEES — THEIE MODE OF BIVOUACKING DIS- 

COVEEY OF A MINE — THE EACE OF MINEES — THEIR 
GREAT STEENGTH — PEODUCTIONS OF CHILI ... 39 

CHAPTEE ly. 

THE CHILIAN HOESE — ITS CHAEACTEEISTICS — SANTIAGO 

TO COQUIMBO — PEIMITIVE MODE OF THEASHING 

THE VAMPIEE BAT 55 



Vm CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE y. 



Pasre 



HOENED CATTLE OF CHILI — THE ANNUAL EODEO — BOAST- 
ING A CALF — THE MATANZA . 68 



CHAPTEE YI. 

A PUMA HUNT — BEASTS OF PEEY— G-AME — HAWKING 

THE ployee's SCEATCH 80 

CHAPTEE YII. 

THE CONDOE— ITS SIZE — MODE OF KILLING AN UN- 
PLEASANT POSITION — AN eagle's NEST — THE CHIN- 
CHILLA — THE NEST OF THE OSTEICH 103 

CHAPTEE Yin. 

THE INHABITANTS OF CHILI — THE LADIES — THEIE 
EDUCATION — MATEIMONIAL CUSTOMS — THE LAW OF 
SUCCESSION — COSTUME — STYLE OF LIVING- — A 
WHOLESOME BEYEEAGE — THE DIET OF MINEES . . 117 

CHAPTEE IX. 

DESCENT OF THE CHILIANS — ALBINOS — SOUTH CHILIAN 

-ROBBEES — SALTEADORES — SEEENOS — EXECUTIONS . 136 

CHAPTEE X. 

THE CLEEGY OF CHILI — THEIE ' NIECES '-r-THElE IN- 
TOLERANCE — INDIAN SUPEESTITION . . . . . . 153 



CONTENTS. IX 



CHAPTEE XI. 



Page 



SYSTEM OF TAXATION — DISHONEST PRACTICES OP ENG- 
LISH MANTJEACTUEERS — IMPORT AND EXPORT DUTIES 
— EFFECT OF THE ALTERATION IN THE NAVIGATION 
LAWS UPON ENGLISH SHIPPING — ADVICE TO ENG- 
LISHMEN VISITING CHILI 160 



CHAPTEE Xn. 

PERU — CASTLE OF CALLAO — LIMA — FRUITS — NATIONAL 
DEBTS — CHILIAN TREACHERY — SLAVERY AND REPUB- 
LICANISM — BULL-FIGHT — SANTA CRUZ — CHARACTER 
OF THE PERUVIANS 174 

CHAPTEE XIII. 

cape blanco — bolsa-tvood rafts — dolphin fishing 
— a shark hooked — guayaquil — the alligator 
— santa cruz — port of valpara.iso — an old 
wreck — sea-fights — killing a snake — the 
padre's story 199 



CHAPTEE XIY. 

HARBOURS OF CENTRAL AMERICA — HURRICANES, AND 

THEIR EFFECTS — CLIMATE, FRUITS, ETC 241 



CHAPTEE XY. 

WATER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC AND 

THE PACIFIC 248 



INTEODUCTION 



HxWING passed six years in wandering through 
several of the EepubUcs on the western coast of 
America^ I have beguiled away many a winter evening 
and rainy day since my return, in putting into order 
numerous notes, and copying sketches taken during 
that period of my travels. As I almost lived on 
horseback, I must have travelled in that manner over 
more ground than has fallen to the lot of most 
foreigners in those countries. 

In this small work, I purpose to take my reader (if 
he will be kind enough to accompany me) from Chili 
to the interior of Central America ; and I promise 
him, as far as lies in my power, to avoid any ground 
that has been so trodden before as to leave a broad, 
beaten trail. 

On our arrival in the dense forests of Central 
America, I will say ^ Adios,' and leave him to return 
home by any route he prefers, as I wish to meditate 
there a little on the possibility, practicability, and 
probabihty of a great Water Communication between 
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans ; but I trust he will 
remain with me and discuss the question. 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

Two years' wanderings in Central America must 
naturally have made a man of strong constitution, 
rather erratic habits, and fond of adventure^ pretty 
well acquainted with that wild, wooded country ; and, 
last year, I wrote a slight work relating a few of 
those adventures in the depths of the forest. Many 
reviewers spoke kindly of it, as they generally do 
of a work which almost disarms criticism by the 
absence of any pretension ; but the limits of the 
book would not allow me to touch upon the subject 
of the Great Ship Canal through Nicaragua. 

I offer to the reader the following remarks upon 
the manners and customs of the peoj)le on that 
extended coast, upon the habits and nature of the 
birds and beasts, interspersed with anecdotes and 
tales of travel, as the result of my own observation 
and experience, and I shall be happy if the last 
chapter, which touches on the important question 
before alluded to, may prove useful to mankind. 

I also add a Map of Central America, in which the 
line is marked which I believe will be adopted in 
cutting through that country, to form the contem- 
plated canal between the two great oceans, together 
with vertical sections of the whole oj)eration. 

These were taken from the surveys of Mr. Bailey, 
an English officer, and his son. As far as I can 
judge, they are quite correct; and I believe the said 
line to be the onlv one feasible. 



WANDERINGS 



IN SOME OF 



THE WESTERN REPUBLICS 



CHAPTER I. 
BEFUJBLIC OF CHILL 

ITS NATURAL BOUNDAEIES — CLIMATE — FOEM OF GOYEEN- 
MENT — SEEFDOM OF THE PEONS — THE MUEDEE OF DON 
DIEGO POETALIS — MILITAEY FOECE. 

"VTO country in the world, except it be an island, 
•^^ can have its boundaries more clearly fixed than 
Chih. The Pacific Ocean forms the Western boundary ; 
the immense ranges of enormous and ever snow- 
clad mountains of the Andes, the Eastern one. 
The Northern limit is clearly marked out by the 
sterile and terrible desert of Atacama; and the 
Southern barrier no less well defined by the lances 
and lassos of the savage Araucano Indians. This 
frontier is less secure than the others, and requires a 
large portion of the regular army to protect it ; but 
those said spears and lassos always have been, and 
now are, quite sufficient to deter the Chilians from 
extending that frontier, or making any attempt at, 
what is now commonly called, annexation. 

The only mode of ingress or egress is, either by 

B 



2 CHILI : 

the sea or over the Andes; the principal ports on 
the coast being those of Conception, Valparaiso, and 
Coquimbo ; but they are not regular ports — they are 
merely bays or roadsteads, and are insecure, with 
the exception of Coquimbo. Every winter some 
vessels are lost from the effects of northern gales ; 
happily they occur rarely. There are three principal 
passes over the Andes. The south one being that 
of Santa Eosa, the centre one of the " Cajon of 
Maypo," and the north one in the province of Co- 
quimbo. On each of these passes is a sort of guard, or 
rather custom-house, garrisoned by a few men, and it 
is very rarely a person can make his escape, or, indeed, 
leave the country without a permit ; the north and 
south being well secured by the arid desert of Ata- 
cama, where there is no water, and the above-men- 
tioned Araucano Indians. 

Also, in no other country, perhaps, is there such a 
variety of chmate and temperature as in Chili. About 
a thousand miles in length from south to north, the 
temperature naturally varies as we approach the 
equator, but a far greater difference is felt when tra- 
velling from west to east. In the latter case, some- 
times, one day's journey will enable the traveller to 
experience a transit from burning hot plains to most 
intense cold and never-melting snows. The change 
is sudden ; and though I have often heard a parched- 
up traveller on the plains express a wish to take a 
good roll in the snow above him, yet, when he had 
arrived there, I never knew one that did not express 
a strong desire to be back again and get unfrozen. 



ITS CLIMATE. 3 

In the south, the cHmate is Hke that of France ; 
and the luxuriant vegetation shows plainly that abun- 
dance of rain falls on the Province of Conception. 
Fine natural grass and well-grown timber are con- 
stantly met with. The crops of wheat (both white 
and red) are very heavy. Irrigation is not wanted ; 
and everything that grows well in the same northern 
latitude, flourishes in the south provinces. They 
are likewise very healthy. 

As the traveller proceeds towards the north, the 
climate gradually changes, and on arriving at about 
the latitude of Valparaiso or Santiago (33°); the rains 
are much scarcer than in that part of the country he 
has left behind him. Natural grasses are only seen 
after the few rains that fall, and soon get eaten up by 
the cattle and mules, or else scorched up by the burn- 
ing sun, and recourse must be had to artificial grasses, 
which can only be procured by irrigation ; and the 
way that irrigation is managed is truly wonderful, 
considering the * acequias,' or small canals, are often 
levelled by the eye only, and that frequently for many 
miles. 

The artificial grass used and grown to immense 
extent in Chili is called ^ alfalfa,' which is the Spanish 
for clover; it is not clover, but a valuable species of 
lucern. It requires much irrigation, and growls very 
fast. It also possesses the valuable property of being 
the most favourite food of grazing animals, and of 
very soon restoring flesh to hard-worked horses and 
mules, although it still retains them in hard-working 

B a 



4 PROVISIONS. 

condition. When it is fed close down, the animals 
are removed into another fresh field, and water turned 
on the old one for a day or two ; and what with the 
irrigation, and the heat of the sun, in six weeks the 
field is ready for another troop of animals, or, if near 
a town, another cut. It is .a natural ' piece de resist- 
ance.' I do not know what the people of Chili fas 
an equestrian nation) could possibly do without this 
useful herb. 

Everything growls in great abundance about Sant- 
iago. The wheat is still very fine, and. also barley, 
which is the Chilian substitute for oats. Almost 
every sort of vegetable grown in England is pro- 
duced, and many not known in Europe. Pears and 
apples are very inferior ; but fine strawberries, large 
peaches grown on standard trees, but mostly of that 
sort in which the stone adheres ; apricots and nec- 
tarines, likewise on standards ; very fair oranges ; 
the finest melons, figs, and grapes, to be seen any- 
where, with many others, are sold at Santiago re- 
markably cheap. 

The animal produce is equally reasonable, with the 
exception of butter, which is extremely bad and de,ar; 
but fowls, turkeys, and beef, are to be purchased very 
cheap. In the country, near Santiago, I have fre- 
quently bought fine fowls at about threepence (Eng- 
lish) each, and a good sized turkey for less than two 
shilUngs. At Valparaiso, which is crowded with Eng- 
lish and other foreigners, everything is much dearer, 
and fornge for horses both expensive and scarce. 
The rent of houses is exorbitant — one thousand or 



I 



COQUIMBO. 5 

twelve hundred dollars a-year being a very common 
price. Fuel is also scarce and dear. 

Proceeding further north, the traveller will find 
that the climate undergoes another rapid change : 
Coquimbo, which is only three degrees of latitude 
further north than Santiago, but which three degrees 
are converted by Chilian roads into four hundred and 
fifty miles, has, in general, a beautiful soil ; but suffi- 
cient rain is denied it, and the consequence is, that 
in four years out of five there is scarcely an appear- 
ance of natural grass ; and the mules and horses 
of those poorer persons who cannot afl'ord to place 
their animals in irrigated fields, suffer in proportion 
to the dryness of the season, and often die in large 
numbers. 

The province of Coquimbo, being a mining coun- 
try, immense troops of mules are kept in it for the 
purpose of conveying copper ores and bar copper 
down to the port of Coquimbo for shipping. Some 
of these troops belong to the owners of mines ; but 
they mostly belong to some muleteer, who, with his 
sons or some hired men, are engaged by the journey. 
Each mule on an average carries sixteen arobas (four 
hundred weight Spanish), some more and some less ; 
but sixty-four hundred weight, or, what is called a 
^cajon,' is only paid for as sixteen mules' load, and 
the muleteers may divide the load over twenty if they 
please. I have never seen a huanaco carry a load in 
Chili, though in Peru long files of lamas are seen 
every day ; but there is a saying in the north, that 
' a mule should carry sixteen arohas, a burro (donkey) 



6 SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 

eight arobas^ and a huanaco only four ; but then a 
mule 7?iust hsLYe grass, a donkey can live on nothing 
but sticks, and a huanaco can exist on stones/* 

Eain seldom falls in Coquimbo more than on four 
or five days in the year ; each hour of rain is watched 
with anxiety, and in those four or five days it is gene- 
rally only for a few hours each day ; but I remember 
one year it rained for nearly nine days consecutively, 
beginning with drizzling showers, that prepared 
the earth to make the most of what followed, and 
the consequence was that the natural grasses grew 
almost to the height of a horse on spots, where, in 
other years, a few goats could barely find subsistence. 

All sorts of provisions are far dearer and more 
difficult to be obtained than in the southern pro- 
vinces. Fowls and meat are more than double the 
price, and fruit scarcely to be procured. Vegetables 
also are seldom to be had, except in the city itself. 

Proceeding further north, the traveller still keeps 
rapidly changing his climate, and that essentially for 
the worse. As little rain falls about Coquimbo, at 
Huasco that little is sadly reduced ; and, though the 
soil is excellent, yet the difficulty of irrigation is so 
great that very little land can be brought to produce 
anything. 

* In central America a mule load is considered very heavy 
when it amounts to two hundred and fifty pounds ; but having 
some fine mules in that country, I had th.em loaded as in 
Chili, only giving something for the climate. It was not the 
mules that could not carry, but the lazy loaders of the mules : 
few could lift up a load of one hundi'ed and fifty pounds on to 
a mule's back. 



GOVERNMENT OF CHILT. 7 

Vegetables and ifait can hardly be expected ; fowls 
and beef are six times the price paid in the south ; 
and, as we have now arrived in the silver mining 
country, nothing scarcely under a dollar is taken for 
accommodation that would be given gladly five hun- 
dred miles further south for little or even nothing. 

Travelling still further north the annual rains 
almost cease; there is some little vegetation, but 
procured entirely by irrigation. 

At last, to the north of Oopiapo, the ultimate verge 
of vegetation is passed, and the traveller finds him- 
self absolutely stopped from further progress by the 
desolate arid desert of Atacama, which forms that 
boundary of Chili — and a most secure one it is. 

And now, having taken the reader from nearly 
the south to the extreme north of Chili, let us return 
to the capital, and make, not only a few excursions 
in the hunting and shooting hue, but also remarks 
on the Government, which rules a population of 
about two millions, thinly scattered over an immense 
extent of territory. I have purposely carried my 
reader very nearly in a hand-canter for many hun- 
dreds of miles; and we will now take rest, to con- 
sider what we have seen. 

The government of Chili is called a republican 
government, and believed to be such by those who 
look only to a name ; but it is really no more a 
republic, in the strict sense of the word, than the 
rule of any other government that relies on the 
clergy, the very higher orders of gentry, and the 



8 FORM OF GOVERNMENT. 

army for support. The name is the only resem- 
blance it bears to a republic ; but in strict fact, it is an 
oligarchical government, with an immense quantity 
of real feudal power; that power being in the hands 
of a few, — and those few being the heads of the 
clergy, and also the landlords, owners of large 
estates and enormous herds of cattle. 

These owners of 'haciendos' are really and truly 
as much the owners of the peasantry as the feudal 
lord was of the serf; but the obligation and power 
are widely different, — for the Chilian landlord asserts 
no power except that given him by a law recognised 
all over the world — viz., that law which relates to 
debtor and creditor. 

Cities and towns may be freer from this influence, 
but in large estates it is real feudalism. This remark 
may appear strange — republicanism to be compared 
with feudalism ! — but a jolain account of the manage- 
ment of one of the large estates will fully bear out 
the statement, adding that the said management is 
more or less the same on every estate. 

Happening to be on a visit to a friend who owned 
a very large hacienda, about one hundred miles to 
the south of the capital, Santiago, I very naturally 
took every oj^portunity of making myself acquainted 
with the rules and regulations by which the estate 
was managed. The, annual revenue from this ' haci- 
enda ' was estimated at above sixty thousand dollars ; 
and my friend's income, or rather fortune, was greatly 
increased by the accumulation of large sums, saved 



AN ESTATE IN SANTIAGO. 9 

by keeping his expenditure below one quarter of his 
receipts for many previous years. The results of my 
observations are as follow. 

The population on an estate is seldom reckoned 
by the actual number of living beings. Old and 
infirm men^, women^ and children;, are thrown out of 
the account, and the owner of the estate can some- 
times say, 'I have one thousand men ready to mount 
on horseback at my call.* The greater part of these 
men, though bound to do service, are never paid in 
money, but the owner allows them a piece of ground, 
which they till, and also rear melons and other fruits. 
Should the peon wish to sow wheat, the patron sup- 
plies him with seed, and requires it to be returned at 
harvest- time. 

For this land, the peasant, or ' peon ' is to furnish 
his landlord so many days' labour during each year, 
the call for such labour being absolutely at the dis- 
posal of the owner, or his 'major-domo.' 

Should more labour be required of him than his 
due, he is paid for it, either in money or goods. The 
wages are very low, and he may take which he pleases, 
either goods or money. The first time he tries, he 
may have his choice, but in a short time he will find 
he has none. 

Beside the above-mentioned duty, he has to mount 
on horseback, to serve his landlord, once a year, for 
a few days, during the great annual ' rodeo ;' but as 



^ This number alludes to the estate I am describing. 

B 2 



10 SERFDOM OF THE PEONS. 

those days are considered a period of rejoicing for a 
Chilian guasso, it is not thought an onerous duty. 
He has also to attend on horseback at all the changes 
of horned cattle from one pasturage to another ; and 
he has likewise to give his aid and help at the 
threshing, or rather treading out of the corn, at 
harvest time. Lastly, he has to be ready to mount 
on horseback on any special command from his 
^patron.' 

Under such circumstances, the peons lead rather a 
rough and uncertain life. Beneath the sway of a 
kind landlord, they may be pretty comfortable ; but 
under a hard one, they may be ground to the dust. 

But the reader may say, ' This is not feudalism ; he 
may go and change his bad master for a good one !* 
Wait one moment. 

Every landlord keeps, at his ' hacienda,' a shop in 
which is sold every article that can possibly be wanted 
by any Peon. Charque (or hung beef), candles, 
grease, jackets, trowsers, pouches, boots, shoes, linen, 
calico, buttons, thread, needles, together with saddles, 
pilHons, sudaderos, bits, bridles, and enormous spurs 
are there exhibited; and, at the same time, tempta- 
tions in the shape of muslins, gauze, French imitation 
ear-rings and necklaces, and all those ' objets de luxe* 
that may prove attractive to the fairer (only by com- 
parison) sex. 

The first object of a ChiUan guasso is to have a 
handsome saddle and good skins, or pillions, over his 
(generally speaking) good horse, with an ornamented 



SERFDOM OF THE PEONS. 11 

head-piece and large spurs — silver, if possible. He 
goes to the above-mentioned shop, and easily gets 
credit for the whole turn-out; and he immediately 
becomes a bondsman ; he can never pay his debt, or, 
if he pay that one, he still remains in debt for some- 
thing else — even necessary articles, that can only be 
bought at that shop and nowhere else. He at last 
arrives at that point of debt when he is as much 
bound to the soil, as if he lived in England in the 
time of our first Norman kings. It is no use flying 
and seeking another home and another patron ; he is 
almost certain to be caught ; sent back, severely 
punished, and the expenses of his capture added to 
the original debt. He is, to all intents and purposes, 
hound to the soil: — should the estate devolve to heirs, 
the debt passes with it. Should the hacienda be sold 
(even to a stranger), the debt may be sold with it, 
and the man is nothing more than a respectable kind 
of serf. Now out of about one thousand men ready 
to attend my friend's bidding, there were scarcely a 
dozen out of debt; in fact, they had sold them- 
selves. 

Many men can, and do keep themselves out of this 
dependence, and the dwellers in towns, and squatters 
in wild parts of the country, know nothing of this 
oppression except by name; but the independence of 
Chili was not gained by shopkeepers and the in- 
habitants of cities ; it was gained by these very 
guassos, instigated by the owners of the estates they 
lived upon. After their victory, they returned quietly 



12 VALUE OF AN ESTATE. 

under their yoke, and that yoke in most cases is a 
very light one, but still it is a yoke. 

Even the higher order of dependants, such as 
major-domos and head cattle-keepers, are almost 
always in debt to their patrons ; and yet, under this 
almost feudal system, both. patron and peon, master 
and servant, manage to get on very amicably 
together. 

It is not considered derogatory, for the owner of a 
large estate, to sit behind the counter of his shop for 
, several hours every day^ when he is in the country, 
selling or measuring tape, calico, needles, saddles, or 
spurs ; and by a strict attention to economy, many of 
the owners amass enormous fortunes, for I never 
remember one great proprietor that lived uj) to half 
his income. 

I will give an account of the annual value of the 
estate I have mentioned, and the same may apply to 
most of the estates in the country, bearing in mind 
that those near large towns (as in England) are much 
more valuable than those far away; as cattle may 
then be sold to the butchers daily or weekly, instead 
of being slaughtered once a-year. 

Besides, the alfalfa in the fields is sent into towns 
for horses, and cattle taken in to graze. 

The owner of this hacienda grew from 36,000 to 
40,000 fanegas of wheat every year, which, at the low 
price of rather more than one dollar j)er fanega (about 
160 lbs. weight) will gi^-e upwards of 40,000 dollars 
a- year. 



PRODUCE or AN ESTATE. 13 

He possessed a herd of about 14,000 head of 
borned cattle. 

Now, a certain portion of a herd are picked out 
every year for the great ^ Matanza/' or kilhng, and 
those slaughtered may produce about twenty-two 
dollars each, including everything; but the usual 
way is to calculate a little more than one dollar 
a head for the whole herd, as the annual income 
derived from cattle. The 14,000 head of oxen pro- 
duced about Ifi.OOO dollars a-year. The grazing he 
let out for mules was valued at about 2000 dollars, 
and the profits of his shop about 4000 more annually. 
In short, the estate produced him upwards of 60,000 
dollars a-year, besides good round sums for horses 
and mules, of which he bred a great quantity. 

The only difference between the landlords of the 
South and those of the North is, that the latter add 
mining and smelting to their other sources of profit. 
The miners and muleteers being all paid in cash or 
goods, as they please, and in noways bound to any 
particular soil, are all equally well off', and as there is 
only one scale for wages, rations, and general treat- 
ment provided by law, they little care under what 
master they serve ; but even a miner cannot take 
service with another master without showing a paper 
signed by his last master declaring he is not in debt 
to him. 

The above account applies solely to the agricul- 
tural labourers and dependents upon large estates, 
and not at all to artizans and dwellers in towns, but. 



J4 THE PRESIDENT OF TEE REPUBLIC. 

out of the whole population of ChiH, four-fifths at 
least must be dependent on some hacienda. 

Thus the owners of the soil, with the assistance of 
the all-powerful clergy, are, in fact, those who really 
dictate to the government, though the landowners are 
seldom seen as one of its members. 

The president has generally been a military man. 
supported by civilians, the great part of whom are 
generally lawyers; and it fell to the lot of General 
Prieto, when he was elected president, to be sup- 
ported by the only man that had shown the smallest 
capacity as a statesman. That man was poor Don 
Diego Portalis, who was afterwards murdered in a 
cowardly and treacherous way by a portion of the 
army. 

When he entered into office, his first care was to 
make all the roads and communications safe to travel 
on, and the numerous human heads and hands, stuck 
on poles and sweltering under the sun by the way- 
side, soon convinced the remaining sanguinai^y high- 
waymen who had previously infested every path, that 
their ' occupation was gone/ He then applied 
himself to the finances of his country, and succeeded 
in bringing them into something like order. The 
way he met his death was as fohows; and it is so 
characteristic of South American armies, that it de- 
serves mention, even ('which I am not aware of; if it 
be a twice or thrice told tale. 

A division of the army was ordered to be reviewed. 
and this division was commanded by an ungrateful 



ATTEMPTED INSURRECTION. 15 

scoundrel whom Portalis had himself brought forward 
from a low rank^ and had procured him at last the 
command of a division. Don Diego Portalis went 
to the review to inspect the troops; he was the only 
minister present. He advanced to the front of the 
line and a handsome charger was led by his side; 
the horse being intended to be presented to his 
' protege/ 

He met his false ' Judas/ who came forward to 
meet him, but was instantly made a prisoner of and 
carried to the rear. 

This 7nan (though he does not deserve the name) 
had under most false pretences, corrupted the division 
under his command, both ofl&cers and men ; he had 
taught them that their present government was ini- 
quitous, and that they ought to, and must, raise 
another. In shorty he wanted to be made President, 
and to get up a revolution in the style that now 
disgraces, every year. Central America; and the 
officers he had seduced from their duty were to have 
a portion of the good things. Fancy such a state 
of things, reader, if you happen to be an English 
officer ! 

Poor Portalis was put under the charge of a few 
officers and several privates, who placed him in a 
carriage that they had already prepared for him. The 
prisoner and escort were placed in the rear of the 
army, which instantly commenced its march upon 
Valparaiso, with the avowed object of plundering it, 
and then taking possession of the reins of govern- 
ment. 



16 THE MURDER OF 

But the chiefs of the insurrection found the men 
very diflScult to command and manage ; the soldiers 
got drunk, and although they still marched on towards 
Valparaiso, the ' coup-de-main' entirely failed, and 
they only managed at last to get into something like 
aposittoiiy not far from Valparaiso itself. 

In the meantime, the militia of that Port, aided by 
a few of the garrison, were got under arms, and 
advancing to meet the mutinous soldiers, also took 
up a position between the town and the regulars (if 
regular they can be called), and within musket-shot. 
The action was very short ; the two parties fired at 
each other, and the soldiers, knowing they were fight- 
ing on the wrong side, soon made their escape, leav- 
ing the real criminals to bear the brunt and atone for 
their crimes. 

But during these events poor Portalis had been 
dragged along after the army, in charge of a rascally 
escort of officers, who had involved themselves so far 
with their chief that they determined to stand firm to 
the last. 

Being placed in the rear of the position, they had 
no duty to perform beyond that of guarding their 
prisoner, but when these disgraces to the name of 
officers heard that affairs were not going on well in 
front, they determined to murder their prisoner. 

They were afraid, of being apprehended, should 
those affairs turn out badly, as Portalis's guards ; and 
should the minister escape, his well-known firmness 
and courage were warrants for bringing them to 



DON DIEGO PORTALIS. 17 

justice. They halted the carriage, and told him to 
descend ; they then ordered one of the soldiers to fire 
at him ; I believe the man refused : but at all events 
one of the officers snatched a musket from a soldier, 
and fired it at Portalis, — close to him, — but the 
minister ^Yas only wounded, and asked time to pray 
and confess ; but another officer drew his sword and 
ran him through the body, and the others followed 
his example. 

He died a miserable death ; but thus did Chili lose 
her most efficient minister and servant. His memory 
is still cherished by all who wish well to the country. 

The authors of the revolt and consequent murder 
tried to escape in all directions, but, as remarked 
before, escape is almost impossible from Chili. On 
the western side, the Chilian navy was ordered to 
cruize, and no person allowed to get into a boat with- 
out a permit. The passes over the Andes, on the 
eastern boundary, were strictly guarded upon the first 
news of the outbreak. The two roads, one near the 
sea-coast, and the other nearly under the foot of the 
Andes, that formed the only way of reaching the, 
desert of Atacama, were also carefully watched, and I 
was myself a witness of the capture of two of the 
actual murderers. They had intended to commit 
themselves to the mercy of the desert, but they would 
have met there a far worse fate than that awarded to 
them ; and they would never have dreamed of con- 
fiding themselves to the mercies of the Araucano 
Indians. 



18 CAPTURE OF TWO OF THE MURDERERS. 

They were both fiae young men, but one had real 
pluck in him, and the other was craven. Yes, craven 
to the extreme. Well did his companion say, ' If 
my comrade had only helped me to clear the road 
with our pistols and sabres, we should have been 
saved, and gained the des-ert ; for we were attacked 
by only three, but this pitiful coward gave up at once, 
and left me to too great odds/ 

They were conveyed in a Chilian man-of-war to 
Valparaiso, and were both shot a few days after. The 
numerous officers implicated in the revolt were 
executed in the like mode. 

Although one was so craven in the fighting line, 
yet I have often observed that the inhabitants of the 
south, and by the south I mean even Spain and 
Portugal, meet death, wheyi it is inevitahle (such as 
an execution), with the greatest coolness; and the 
coward met his death as well as the brave man, who 
wished to sell his life dearlv. 

Shooting a criminal is an uncertain and sometimes 
a most barbarous way of putting him out of the 
world ; but respecting that cruel mode of execution 
some remarks will be found in another part of this 
little work, which will prove it, in some instances, 
really atrocious. 

The only possible ways by which such criminals 
can escape from the justice of their country are the 
two following : — by the first one, an acquaintance 
saved his life by being carefully hidden in the country- 
house of an old friend who proved faithful to him; 



MILITARY FORCE OF THE CAPITAL. 19 

but the second way is rather too much for most 
Chihans. That way of escape is to take to the Andes, 
— far, far away from any track or trail, and amidst 
terrible privations, wait until the vigilance of the pur- 
suit be abated. I do not think the constitution of 
any of their ^^/^7f^/;^^/^ could stand the trial; however, 
I think that a strong, healthy man, with warm clothing 
and a poncho or two ; together with a gun and plenty 
of ammunition might get through four or five months' 
wandering in the Cordillera. 

For my own part, I should not have hesitated a 
moment : I would have faced anything instead of 
quietly giving myself up to be lutchered, as many 
were who had no part in the murder, though they 
had taken one in the revolt. I should have gone to 
the hills, and there, most likely, died ; but not within 
the gaze of an assembled populace. 

Since that time Chih has, little by little, consoli- 
dated her position amongst the nations of the world. 
She has always acknowledged her debt, and is now 
paying the interest on it very punctually. 

Few regular troops are seen about the centre of 
Chili. A squadron of hussars do escort duty for the 
President at Santiago, and there are also a few artil- 
lerymen : the force in the capital is composed of four 
regiments of miUtia infantry, which assemble once 
a-week for drill, and are respectable enough. At 
Valparaiso there were, when I was last 'at that place, 
two regiments of mihtia infantrj-, and two or three 



20 THE REGULAR ARMY. 

squadrons of militia lancers, besides a few regular 
artillerymen. 

Almost the whole of the regular army is quartered 
on the south frontier to keep in check the bold, 
savage Araucanians ; but in the north, from Val- 
paraiso to the Desert, a ^^egular soldier is scarcely 
ever seen. 




Specimen of the South I'rcntier ci Chili. 



23 



CHAPTER II. 

MINES OF CHILI^ — VISIT TO A SMELTING- ESTABLISHMENT — 
DIFFICULTIES OF THE EOAD — COOKINa BY STEAM AT 
GEEAT ALTITUDES. 

THEEE are very many valuable mines in Chili; 
but the principal mining provinces are those of 
Coquimbo, Huasco, and Copiapo, with all the in- 
termediate and adjacent country. There are some 
copper mines within forty miles of Santiago ; but 
they all contain a good deal of water, and the ore is 
seldom rich, and the veins seldom steady. In the 
north, the mines are mostly free from water, which is 
a great advantage. In the Andes, no doubt there 
must be splendid gold, silver, and copper mines in 
abundance; but the trouble and danger in hunting 
for them is too great, and, even when discovered, the 
working of them, and the transport of ores down to 
the plains, would offer insuperable difficulties. How- 
ever, there is one known silver mine on the very 
summit of a high mountain in the Andes called San 
Pedro Nolasco. The Baron Von Humboldt made a 
party to ascend the mountain. Years afterwards, 
wishing to inspect the mine, and having the advan- 
tage of the owner being an EngHsh friend, we formed 
a party consisting of three other English gentlemen, 
who, together with myself and a couple of servants, 
were to ride over to the ' Tollo ' (as my friend's house 



42 -- t^H WATER SUPPLY. 

and smelting establishment is called), the day before 
we attempted the ascent. This place is situated 
a long way up the 'Cajon of Maypo/ which is a 
huge guUey, with precipitous banks, worn for ages by 
the furious river Maypo, that rushes over its bottom, 
and on the side of which is the path that leads to 
one of the passes over the Andes. 

On leaving Santiago, the road lies over the vast 
plains of Maypo, that a few years ago were parched 
sterile tracts; but, a company having been formed, a 
large dam was made across part of the river many 
miles higher up; and, by means of a reservoir and a 
canal, water was conveyed to these plains and dis- 
tributed by trenches or ' acequias,' as they are called. 
All who pay for this water are supplied by the com- 
pany ; and some parts of the land are so well irrigated 
that wheat and melons are now growing where scarcely 
a blade of grass was previously seen. We sent a 
mule load of refreshments to the ' ToUo ' the night 
before ; and, as we intended to travel fast the next 
day, sent a servant with spare horses to meet us at 
the entrance of the Cajon. The distance from San- 
tiago to the Tollo is about seventeen leagues, or fifty 
miles ; the breadth of the plains being about twenty 
miles, leaving thirty to be travelled up this great 
guUey, and principally along side of the river — often 
at great heights above it ; but the road is not bad, 
though dangerous at night. We started at about 
twelve o'clock in the day, and,, it being over-clouded, 
our horses carried us the twenty miles in about two 
hours, and in good style. 



A DESPERATE PLUNGE. 25 

For going fast long distances, there is nothing like 
what the Chilians call, ' trote y galope/ which their 
horses do to perfection, — a quarter of an hour's trot 
succeeded by a quarter of an hour's canter, — and 
when they are tired of one they take to the other 
quite naturally. We found our horses waiting for us 
at the entrance to the cajon, and having changed our 
saddles, proceeded up the gully. About half way, 
we crossed the most furious stream I ever saw; it 
falls into the Maypo, about two hundred yards from 
the bridge. The river is called ^Rio Colorado,' or 
Eed Eiver, from the hue of the water. 

This bridge is merely composed of a few thick 
planks laid across, without the smallest guard on 
either hand. Some years ago, a prisoner was passing 
over it on horseback, in charge of two ^ vigilantes,' or 
armed constables, when he suddenly wheeled his 
horse round, but so sharply that he forced the horse 
off the bridge, and made him plunge into the raging 
stream. I suppose he preferred being drowned to 
being shot; but he was hurried at a tremendous rate 
down the stream, and, together with his horse, were 
smashed into formless masses. 

On arriving at a village two miles from the Tollo, 
we found our host, who had ridden forth to meet us ; 
and half-way from the village to the smelting esta- 
blishment, we had to cross the Maypo river itself, — 
for the establishment and the mountain we were 
going to are both on the other side, though the pass 
over the Andes is on the side we had been riding on. 



26 PRIMITIVE SUSPENSION-BRIDGE. 

The bridge over the river is made of wicker-work, 
suspended by ropes over the torrent.* These bridges 
are made pretty nearly on the same principle as our 
suspension ones, but very much more primitive in 
their construction. The following brief descrip- 
tion will give some idea pf the way these rivers are 
crossed, for the Maypo could not be forded. The 
bottom or floor of the bridge is of a coarse 
wicker-work ; and although at each end of it the 
side ropes are high enough, yet in the centre they 
come almost down to a level with the floor, leaving 
no guard on either side. I had been several times 
there before, but I believe my companions had not, 
and the remark of one amused us, as it was said so 
seriously, — 'What would my mother say, if she saw 
me going over that thing!' 

The way the bridge is passed is thus. The rider 
dismounts, and throwing the reins over the head of 
the horse, takes hold of the long plaited whip which 
is joined on to, and forms the end of, the reins, and 
walks on to the bridge, followed by his horse. At 
first, the bridge only shakes, but by the time man 
and horse have arrived in the centre the oscillations 
are very great ; they then dimmish as the other end 
is approached ; and when on the other side, the rider 
has the satisfaction of seeing his successor perform 



* These ropes were formerly made of buU-kides twisted 
when green; but the foxes were continually gnawing them, 
and it was foimd necessary to substitute hawsers. 



THE TOLLO. 27 

the same feat, for no more than one man and horse 
can pass over together. It often hajDpens that a 
horse gets his foot into a hole in the wicker-work, or 
breaks one through himself, and then his struggles 
make the bridge vibrate in a strange manner. 

We all passed over in safety, and soon found our- 
selves at the Tollo. A good supper was ready for 
us, and beds arranged for us on the floor, around one 
large room ; and we soon turned in, having agreed 
to turn out again early in the morning. 

We started early, mounted on mules supplied us 
by our host ; for had we taken mules who had seldom 
been up to great altitudes, they would most likely 
have been attacked with '^puna,' or violent affection 
of the breathing, soon after they had ascended half 
way, and we should have been obliged to return. 

The ' Tollo ' is about seven miles from the foot of 
the first large mountain range of the Andes, which 
contains San Pedro Nolasco ; and the river Maypo is 
followed up-stream for nearly half that distance ; but 
on the opposite side of the stream, alongside of 
which is the path over all the Cordilleras. That 
pass^ bad and dangerous as it is, is a high road, com- 
pared to about three miles of the pass we had to 
travel, — and I know them both pretty well. About 
one mile from the Tollo, we had a specimen of what 
we were to be treated to ; and this was in the shape 
of a staircase, cut into the rock, of about one hun- 
dred steps, but with a perpendicular wall on one 
side, while on the other side was a fearful precipice, 

c 2 



28 A NARROW PASS. 

actually overhanging the centre of the river. The 
pass is scarcely one yard broad, and well deserves its 
name, ' El Paso de las Animas/ or " the ' Passage 
of Souls;' so called from the numbers that have 
been hurried into eternity over that precipice. After 
having climbed these stairs, the path continues 
gradually ascending; but the path is not much 
broader, and the wall on the right-hand side is just 
as perpendicular, while the precipice on the left 
increases every yard in depth, until it leaves the 
appearance of the rushing Maypo as a mere mill- 
stream. The same narrow path, with the same 
perpendicular wall, and the always increasing per- 
pendicular precipice, was the way we toiled on for 
about three miles. Every one of us — masters, 
servants, and muleteers — were crying out at the 
utmost stretch of our voices, to warn anyone from 
entering into the pass until we had left it; as there 
could be no room for two mules to pass; and in 
most places there was no room for a man to get off 
his mule's back. We went over this pass without 
meeting any one, — though at the other end we found 
a peon with his mule, laden, waiting for our arrival, 
as he had heard our shouts. . He might have saved 
his own life, but he never would have saved his 
mule, had he met us in the pass ; for it is not broad 
enough for a mule to turn round, and his mule 
would have been sacrificed to the safety of the party, 
although no doubt he would have been paid its full 
value. But when muleteers meet each other on some 



SAN PEDRO NOLASCO. 29 

of the passes, the struggle is not one to be decided 
by words, but by acts, — and fearful are some of those 
necessary acts. 

Beyond this pass — ' the Pass of Souls' — the road 
is comparatively safe : it is rugged and rocky in the 
extreme ; but during the whole of the remainder of 
the way the traveller can say contentedly to himself, 
•' Now I can't tumble down more than fifty feet, 
instead of a thousand,' — and that is a great comfort, 
as I have often felt. 

We arrived a.t the foot of the mountain at about 
eight o'clock in the morning. About half way up, 
we could see that there was a heavy mist, and, visible 
above that again, large patches of snow — -perpetual, ior 
we were in the summer. We heard the next day, 
that in the village all the muleteers had been making 
bets about our arriving at the summit of the moun- 
tain, on account of the mist, which always foretels 
severe weather. 

However, one or two of them, who knew one or tico 
of us pretty well, made something by backing us. 

It is calculated that from the foot of the mountain 
to the top, nine hours are required for a mule to 
carry a man, giving the beast short restings; and we 
began the ascent, at about half-past eight o'clock, of 
San Pedro Nolasco. 

There was nothing, at first, in the appearance of 
the vegetation to distinguish it from that which grows 
on the surrounding mountains of lesser height ; but 
if any naturalist, or even any common observer, pays 



30 'GATEWAY OF THE WINDS.' 

Strict attention to the different changes of plants cor- 
responding with those of the ascending altitudes, he 
must be struck with the regularity with which bushes 
get more and more stunted; how the plants run less 
to wood ; how, at length, they only run to a sort of 
wire -grass, and lastly, how- that wire- grass only grows 
in the interstices of the rocks and stones. 

About half-way up the mountain, we arrived at a 
curious place, called by the few men (except the 
miners) who have reached that spot, the ' Portezuela 
de los Vientos/ or the 'Gateway of all -the Winds;* 
and never was a name better merited; for having 
travelled on the lee- side of the mountain, we were 
not aware that a terrible tempest of wind was raging 
around us, and when we got to this Portezuela we 
could hardly keep our seats on the mules. 

'Here/ said the guide, 'on just such a day as 
this, the Baron Von Humboldt stopped, and, feeling 
the strength of the wind and looking at that cloud,* 
pointing to the circling mist above our heads, ' de- 
clared he had had enough of it, and would return;' 
adding, ' and I counsel you to do the same.' — How- 
ever, as we had gone so far, we were determined to 
persevere, and after we had passed this favourite 
abode of Boreas, requested the guide to choose out 
a sheltered sjDot where we might refresh the inner 
man and rest our mules for a short time. We soon 
found a well-sheltered nook, and our saddle-bags 
being opened, we all of us sat down to a plentiful 
repast, washed down by something better than water. 



DIFFICULT ASCENT. 31. 

Suddenly we found ourselves entirely enveloped in a 
dense mist, and the guide summoned us to mule- 
back, so that we might get through the mist as soon 
as possible. He also said, ' If you have any brandy 
or other spirits, do not carry them up with you, as the 
extreme cold may tempt you to take some, and your 
life would be in danger, as you are sure to have 
^puna;' take wine if you please, but even that you 
had better leave here, and we can take it up as we 
return/ Thinking that a man almost living in the 
mountains must know better than we did, we took 
his advice, and were very glad we did so. 

Continuing the ascent, we at last emerged from 
the mist into clear frosty air, but blowing a heav}' 
freezing gale, which soon stiffened our wet clothes, 
saturated by the mist. The mountain had now be- 
come so steep that, as we wound up the zig-zag path, 
we were obliged to rest every ten minutes to enable 
our mules to recover their wind, as the atmosphere was 
getting so light that we were all sensibly affected, and 
so were the mules. At one rest, observing one of 
the guide's mules very bloody on the sides, from con- 
stant spurring, I pointed it out to him, and said, 
' Poor beast ! ' ' Oh,' he replied, looking at the 
animal, ^ it is his fate ! — why was he not born a 
bishop ?' It tells better from a Chileno, in Spanish, 
as they consider the lot of a bishop to be the most 
enviable of all lots, enjoying every comfort and 
luxury in this world, and sure of a high place in the 
next. As my mule was done up, and we had at least 



32 AN ATTACK OF PUNA. 

another mile to go, I gave him to my servant to lead, 
and started off on foot, with my gun, in the hopes of 
getting a shot at a guanaco. One barrel was loaded 
with ball and the other with shot; but as I had left 
my poncho with my mule, I felt actually freezing; 
night was coming on, and- both w^armth and the feel- 
ing of vitality leaving me fast; but hurrying on as 
fast as I could, I heard a noise over head, and saw a 
large condor, not much above me, I let fly the ball 
barrel at him — he was hit, but went and settled on 
the other side of a deep ravine. The report of the 
gun flushed a white bird near me, which was brought 
down by the other barrel, and it proved to be a most 
beautiful partridge, snow white, with the exception 
of a delicate rose-colour under the wings, but not 
feathered down the legs. 

The delay this occasioned brought up the party, 
and most thankful we all were when we found our- 
selves in a snug rancho, or cottage, the thick walls of 
which were built entirely of silver ore, but of too poor 
a quality to bear the expense of removing. 

Some of the miners took our mules down to a 
sheltered valley about a thousand feet below us, wh^re 
there was some little forage to be picked up, and as 
we had none of us any inclination to eat or drink, 
we made our beds with our saddles, sheep-skins, and 
saddle-cloths, and were soon asleep. About mid- 
night we were awakened by violent sickness, in short, 
we had the first attack of ' puna,' but it did not last 
long. 



A WORKED-OUT MINE. 33 

Early the next morning, we visited the mine, the 
main shaft of which is about thirty yards from the 
major-domo's rancho, where we had jDassed the 
night. In the time of the Spaniards, many years ago, 
this mine had produced immense sums to the owners; 
but it appeared to me that it had been worked oiitj 
for when I saw it, the receipts would scarcely pay the 
expenses. The ores lately had only about nine marks 
of silver to the cajon* (fifty hundred weight), which at 
the rate of nine dollars a mark would be eighty-one 
dollars per cajon, which could not pay the expenses 
of working, transport, mules, provisions, wages, 
grinding ores, and waste, besides loss of interest on 
quicksilver; without mentioning the gross robberies 
that take place during the last washings. The con- 
sequence is, that my friend's predecessors had been 
ruined, and I believe that at present the mine is 
abandoned. The lode was about nine or ten inches 
in breadth when I was there, and the ' caxa,' or wall, 
on each side very hard. The ore itself was of a very 
dark colour — nearly black, also very hard ; and less 
work could be got out of the miners than on lower 
ground, on account, not only of the lightness of the 
air, but by reason of the provisions they were obliged 
to consume. Unlike the miners of Coquimbo and 
Copiapo, who have a diversity of food, these miners 
eat scarcely anything but bread and charque, or jerked 



* The cajon of copper ore weighs about sixty-four hundreds, 
but the cajon of silver ore only fifty. 

C 3 



34 GORGEOUS SUNRISE. 

beef. Their fuel is very scarce, and has to be brought 
from afar on mules; but even if they had it in 
abundance, the height of the mountain is so great 
that they could not boil a potato, and still less, their 
favourite red haricot-beans, or ^ porotos,* as they are 
called ; and they are thus reduced to a far less healthy 
diet than the miners in more favoured spots; — the 
wages are certainly much higher; but the mine can 
only be worked six or seven months in the year, and 
on the whole I thought them more miserable than 
they thought themselves; for they get a. four or five 
months' holiday in the year, during which time, they 
can cultivate some patches of ground in the valley of 
the river below, to support their families during their 
absence. 

The sun was just rising over the eastern range of 
the Andes as we returned to the surface, and a more 
magnificent sight few men have ever seen — at least, / 
never did. Turning towards the east, the north, and 
the south, nothing met the view but mountain piled 
over mountain, and rock over rock, of every fantastical 
form and shape ; all the highest ones covered with 
eternal snows. 

The diff'erent hues the snow-capped mountains 
assumed as the sun gradually rose, were like ^ dis- 
solving views ;' scarcely one view had been admired, 
when it changed to another. Some mountains re- 
flected the sun s rays like burnished gold ; others like 
silver, but the most beautiful, to me, were the different 
roseate tints that the golden hues left behind them. 



DESCENT FROM THE MOUNTAIN. 35 

and also preceded them. This undulating colour was 
like that of the under part of the wing of the partridge 
I had shot the evening before, if it had been metallic 
kisirecL At last, when the sun was well up, the tops 
of the mountains as far as the eye could reach, 
regained gradually their pure white crests. 

Turning to the west, the Eiver Maypo could be 
traced in the gaily beneath, winding its way towards 
the plains, and appearing almost like a silver thread, 
as it disappeared in the distance ; far below us were 
huge patches of snow, that bear the rays of every 
summer s sun without melting, and as the miners 
said, filling up ^ Quebradas,' or gullies, many hundreds 
of feet in depth. The violence of the wind had swept 
away all traces of snow from the extreme top of the 
mountain, except in those crevices of the rock sheltered 
from the wind. But the cold was too intense and the 
gale of wind too violent to permit us to remain a long 
time watching this splendid view ; water poured upon 
the ground froze in a minute, and we sent for our 
mules, wishing to get back to the spot where we had 
lunched the day before ; but the bad news soon arrived 
tliat the mules had strayed, and we had to pass our 
time until one o'clock before we were enabled to start 
on our descent. Feeling very cold, we determined to 
make some soup to warm us, and as we had plenty of 
meat and onions, cut them up ; put them into a 
saucepan with salt and cayenne pepper, and set them 
to boil. I only relate this for the information of 
those who have not been to great heights, those 



36 MOUNTAIN COOKERY. 

who wish to go there, and also of those who, perchance, 
may beUeve that boiling must be the same hoiling all 
over the world. After our soup had bubbled away, in 
the most orthodox style, for more than two hours, we 
naturally concluded that our ^ bouillon' was ready and 
the meat perfectly done ; especially as the last had 
been cut into rather small pieces ; but, to our great 
surprise, we found the water almost colourless, and 
the meat almost as raw as when it was first put into 
the pot. One of the miners told us it was of no use 
trying to boil anything, as nothing could be cooked 
by water on the top of that mountain, for although 
the water bubbled away very fast, the heat was not 
great enough to boil a potato.* 

I saw directly how the matter laid, and sticking the 
lid tight on the pan, made it fast with heavy lumps 
of silver ore, that were lying about, attaching them 
to the handle, and putting others on the top of all. 
In a very short time the steam got up, and, though it 
made the lid jump a little, I managed to get a good 
broth, to the great surprise of the miners, who could 
not conceive what I was about. 

We took our leave of these honest, obliging miners 
at about one o'clock, and wended our way down the 
mountain, but could not stay at the desired spot for 



* At great altitudes tlie water begins to boil long before it 
arrives at the heat of 212° of Farenheit; and as water cannot 
get hotter than boiling point, except by the compression of 
the steam, nothing can be cooked except by some means of 
confining (with safety) the steam. 



PASO DE LAS ANIMAS. 37 

luncheon. We could not even stay to take the bot- 
tles of good things we had left behind, and night 
overtook us as we reached the foot of the mountain. 
The night was pitch dark, and we had this horrible 
pass in prospective ; however, we still kept on, until 
we arrived at a small spot near the entrance of the 
pass, just large enough to hold us all, and deter- 
mined to bivouac there until the moon rose, which she 
would do at about ten o'clock. What with the cold 
and the fatigue, we sadly missed the small comforts 
we had left on our luncheon ground. However, at 
ten o'clock, we started again, and got safely down the 
pass ; though I am sure I scarcely know how the 
mules got down the ' Paso de las Animas,' composed 
of steps, as the moon was just then behind an im- 
mense mountain. I left myself entirely to my mule, 
and, though I am not much given to nervousness, all 
I can say is, that if the remainder of the party were 
as pleased as I felt, when we were all safe at the 
bottom, we were a very happy party. 

Before concluding this chapter, I trust I may be 
allowed to give a little advice to those who have any 
chance of travelling in very high altitudes, and who 
must necessarily suffer the ' puna ' sickness,* which 
is very distressing, especially when exercise is obliged 
to be taken, however slight. 



* Baron Von Humboldt says, tkat ' Puna,' in Indian, not 
only means high ranges of mountains, but the dwellers 
thereon, and even some of their habits. 



38 ADVICE. 

Provide yourself with raw onions, biscuit, and 
wine ; the latter ought to be Amontillado sherry 
without spirit, and for other eatables take whatever 
you fancy. Eat plenty of raw onions, and they will 
enable you to support the oppressive feeling and 
sickness of ^ puna/ Mind^ one piece of advice — how- 
ever cold, miserable, and wretched you may feel, 
7iever touch sjnrits, either hot with or cold without — 
take now and then a small glass of wine, and, when 
you get down to the lower grounds, a glass of hot 
brandy and water will set you up again sooner than 
anything else. 

One thing do not forget, and that is a saucepan 
with a lid screwing tight on to the pan ; but it must 
have a small spring safety-valve at the top. You will 
then be able to make broth, tea, or coffee, when 
nobody that is not similarly provided can have it. 



39 



CHAPTER III. 

GOLD MINES AND GOLD WASHINGS — HONESTY OF THE 

MULETEEES — THEIE MODE OE BIYOUACKING DISCOYEEY 

OF A MINE — THE EACE OF MINEES — THEIE GREAT STRENGTH 
— PEODUCTIONS OF CHILI. 

THEEE are gold mines and gold washings within 
one hundred miles of Santiago ; but the gold 
mines in that part of the country are Yery poor and 
uncertain : they haYC always proved losing specula- 
tions to those who worked them ; and the only one I 
know to have been successful, situated to the south of 
Coquimbo, is a mine about half way between that 
town and Santiago, on the upper road, or that nearest 
to the foot of the Andes. It belonged to a gentleman 
who was the owner of a large estate, and was called 
the 'Mina de las Vacas.' When I visited it the 
expenses were calculated at about one hundred dol- 
lars a-day, and the receijDts at about two hundred, 
leaving one hundred dollars a-day clear gain. No 
bad thing in these hard times. 

The gold washings are always carried on by poor 
men, who exile themselves for a certain jDcriod after 
the rains, or, rather, after the melting of the snows 
in the Cordillera has swollen the rivers and streams. 
They take up their abode near some stream, and dig 



40 HONESTY OF THE MULETEERS. 

and wash the earth left dry by the receding of the 
water : they work on their own account, but their 
earnings are very small, and still more precarious. 

Copper mines abound in the province of Coquimbo; 
and, for many miles north of the town, the only mines 
I know of are copper : . some of them exceedingly 
rich and productive ; others hardly paying their ex- 
penses ; and others again that prove a dead loss to 
their owners. 

Further north still, both silver and copper mines 
are in great abundance. The miners in these northern 
districts used to have an ' esprit de corps ' and a rec- 
titude about them it would be difficult to meet with 
among the labourers of the south of Chili, or, indeed, 
of any other country. The muleteers of the north 
have the same character, and are always frankly en- 
trusted with very valuable cargoes of bar silver and 
'plata pifia,' which they have never been known to 
make aw^ay with. 

An instance of the honesty of tlie latter was re- 
lated to me by an English gentleman, very much 
respected in Coquimbo, who had settled in the coun- 
try more than fifty years ago, during the time of the 
Spanish rule, marrying a Chilian lady. 

He had mines in Huasco, and one night he sent a 
'proprio,' or courier to his mines, with a large num- 
ber of doubloons to pay the workmen, and other ex- 
penses. The man left Coquimbo with the doubloons 
packed in his saddle-bags, each side of the saddle, 
but the weight of the gold broke an opening in each 
of the bags, and let them down one by one until the 



i 



MULETEERS. 41 

bags were empty, which fact he only discovered at his 
journey's end. He went to the magistrate and to the 
padre, and having related his misfortune, was advised 
to have a few notices written, and on his return to 
stick them on some of the trees on the road, as the 
chief muleteers generally can read. This he did ; 
but meeting some troops of mules with muleteers on 
the road, he utterly despaired of ever seeing the dou- 
bloons again. However, the muleteers had perceived 
them; they gathered them carefully up, and brought 
them faithfully back to the owner. There was only 
one doubloon missing, and that missing one gave the 
muleteers much annoyance ; they only accounted for 
its loss by the chance of a mule having trod on the 
piece of gold, and buried it in the sand. This gen- 
tleman added, however, that since they had mixed so 
much with foreigners, much of the simplicity of their 
character had disappeared. 

Many of the most valuable mines have been dis- 
covered by pure accident, and that in spots that have 
been searched with perseverance, for many years, 
owing to traditions. 

One of the richest mines in the north belongs to 
three brothers, who now possess fine estates and fine 
houses, and are rolling in wealth, although, not very 
long ago, they were simple muleteers. 

Travelling with their troop of mules, they passed 
one night in the open air, as usual, and on the side 
of a mountain. 

The way muleteers bivoauc is as follows : — 

A troop of mules on the line of march is always 



42 THE AlADPvIXA. - 

preceded by a boy mounted on a spare mule, and 
leading a vrhire, grey, or piebald mare, with a bell 
round her neck. She must be of a li2:ht colour, to 
be easily distinguished in the dark, and is generally 
handsome. 

On arriving at the spot where the night is to be 
passed, which is generally selected for its proximity 
to water, wood, and pasture, the mare is halted, and 
the mules form into a large ring near her, and are 
then unloaded, so that the cargoes, saddles, and 
aparejos, form a sort of circular barricade. Each 
muleteer has his own duty to perform ; but the first 
one is the same for all, and that is, to examine the 
state of the mules backs after they are unloaded. 
The bov then leads the mare awav. followed bv all 
the mules, to the nearest pasture : he then tarns her 
loose, and the mules seldom stray away from the 
'Maclrina,' as she is called. He retiums with his 
own mule, and ties it up, letting it feed the range of 
his lasso, for he has to mount it several times durins: 
the night, to ' rodear,' or circle round the troop, and 
take care that they do not stray too far from head- 
quarters. He also has to attend all night to the fire ; 
but he does very little in the day-time, and soon 
learns the art of sleeping on his mule. The boy 
ought also to bring in the first firewood, and to form 
a small fire-place in the centre of the circle with four 
large stones. 

The muleteers are at first occupied in overhauling 
all their aparejos, slings, and girths, and seeing that 
everything is in such order, that they may load the 



I 



DISCOVERY OF A SILVER MINE. 43 

next morning before sunrise Tvithout confusion. One 
of them proceeds to cook their evening meal ; their 
cigars follow as a matter of course, and they are soon 
asleep with their feet to the fire, which is kept blazing 
all night. 

Such was the process followed by the three brothers 

M , on the night in question. When morning 

dawned their mules were loaded, and they were just 
leaving the spot, but one of them returned to the fire 
for the purpose of lighting his cigar, and his visit to 
the fire was certainly to some purpose, for he saw 
long streaks of melted metal issuing from the little 
fire-place ; this, on inspection, proved to be pure 
silver. The mules were unladen, and one of the 
brothers dispatched with the fastest mule, to denounce 
the mine, and in a fortnight afterwards they became 
owners of a prodigiously rich silver mine. I believe 
that the first year the three partners divided two 
millions of dollars. Many persons affirmed one mil- 
lion each ; but when I left the country the profits 
were still enormous. 

It is very curious that there was an old Indian 
tradition respecting the said mountain : according 
to that tradition, the mountain was ^ full of silver.' 
For many, many years, hundreds of ^ Buscadores,' or 
mine-seekers, had annually been exploring, with the 
greatest care, this very mountain. They all failed ; 
and yet accident revealed it to some poor muleteers, 
who chanced to light their fire exactly on the only 
spot of the whole mountain where there is the slightest 
s]pirt of ore to the surface. 



44 MINING TRADITIONS. 

The mines of Potosi were discovered purely by acci- 
dent. A shepherd, slipping down the steep side of 
the mountain, caught hold of a tuft of grass to save 
himself; the grass came out by the roots, and laid 
bare a small spot exactly upon a vein of nearly pure 
silver. 

That some of the very few pure Indians that are 
left in Chili have certain traditions relating to rich 
gold mines, and also have some marks by which they 
may be found, has been pretty well ascertained ; and 
though no doubt those traditions are very mach exag- 
gerated by the credulous, yet I believe there is some 
truth in a portion of them. One thing is certain, 
that no pure Indian likes to talk upon the subject. 

I will relate a story on the subject, told me by a 
Chilian gentleman who owns a large and fertile estate, 
near the banks of a broad. river, and in a country 
where there are no mines actually worked, but sur- 
rounded by metalliferous-looking mountains. 

I should think the tale must be authentic, as it 
related to this gentleman's own father^ and he told it 
to me, after supper, in his own house, where, when- 
ever I passed in my frequent journeys, patron, ser- 
vants, and animals were always hospitably entertained. 
I give the story as it was told to me. 

' Don Jorge,' he began (we had previously been 
talking about mine^), 'my father, possessed the same 
hacienda, and the same house, that we are now sitting 
in. He was always kind and obliging to his tenants 
and ' peons.' There were several pure Indians on 



GRATITUDE OF AN INDIAN. 45 

the estate, whom the other peons, proud of their 
whiter blood, would not associate with, but treated 
them with great contempt. My father, on the contrary, 
pitying their state, treated them even more kindly 
than he did his other dependents ; and he certainly 
deserved and also gained their gratitude. But my 
father fell into difficulties. He lost a great sum of 
money by the taking or sinking of four frigates by 
the English, not far from Cadiz ; and the troubled 
state of the country consequently increasing those 
difficulties, he was threatened with the loss of this 
same estate. 

' One day, when he was sitting in his room, that 
gives on to this ^ patio,* in deep distress, and medi- 
tating how to rescue his property from his creditors, 
he observed an old Indian (whom he had invariably 
been kind to) watching him with great attention. 
Eather annoyed, he asked him sharply what he 
wanted. The answer was, that he had seen with 
great sorrow that his patron had been in deep grief 
for some time, and he wished to know the cause. 
'But if you did know it, you could give me no relief.* 
* How do you know ?' replied the Indian ; ' the most 
humble and low can sometimes help the great; so 
pray tell me what ails my good patron.* ' You can- 
not help me, at all events, in this,' said my father, 
'for I owe a large sum of money, and if it is not 
shortly paid, this hacienda will be sold, and you will 
have another patron, who perhaps will not treat you 
as kindly as I have always done.* ' I was almost 



46 THE Indian's treasure. 

sure you wanted gold, my dear good patron/ an- 
swered the Indian. ' I will call upon you this night, 
three hoars after sunset; see that your servants are 
not in the way; have ready for me a lantern, a case 
of candles, a barreno (long, heavy iron bar), some 
provisions, and a bladder of spirits — for I am afraid 
of what I am about to do. Also, let me take with 
me your large leather saddle-bags.' 

^Well,' continued my host, ^at ten o'clock it was 
quite dark, and the Indian arrived, took what he 
required, and told his patron to wait for him at 
' media noche' (midnight) the night after; but during 
the next day to go on as usual, especially if he saw 
any of the other Indians belonging to the estate. 

^ My father could scarcely place any reliance upon 
the Indian ; but although he had actually jpromised 
nothing, my father, remembering the traditions the 
Indians kept up, had still a vague hope that good 
might be in store for him. 

^ He passed the next day in anxiety, and when 
night set in, dismissed his servants early, and sat up 
awaiting the result. About midnight, the old Indian 
made his appearance, staggering under the weight of 
the saddle bags, which he threw down at his Patron's 
feet. The bags were instantly oj)ened and examined. 
They were full to the brim of gold ore, but of so rich 
a quality as to be almost pure. 

' Turning towards the Indian to thank him for his 
timely aid, he was surprised to see him so haggard 
and troubled, and asked him what was the matter 



THE Indian's departure. 47 

with him. He replied, ^ Patron^ give me a hundred 
dollars in coined silver, for I must fly this night, or 
else I shall be assassinated in a day or two. I dare 
not take any of that gold ; but give me a hundred 
dollars and your benediction, for I must be away this 
instant. If you miss any Indian from the estate 
during the next two or three days, send out on his 
trail and have him brought back, for he will be sure 
to be on mine. Adios, my dear patron V 

The contents of the saddle-bags seem to have 
saved the estate, but the Indian disajDpeared, and 
was never again seen or heard of by any one belong- 
ing to the hacienda. 

One thing occurred the next morning, that we can 
scarcely reconcile ourselves to, in this country. The 
owner of the estate sent for one of his majors-domo, 
who was an excellent hand, or rather eye, on a 
^ rastro,' or trail, and asked him if he could follow 
one thirty or forty hours old. He answered that 
perhaps he could, but it was according to the ground. 
He was shown the Indian's footstejDS, leading to the 
river, which is divided into four rapid streams. But 
at the first stream it was completely lost, for the 
Indian had, by either taking up or down stream, 
entirely hidden his trail. The mountain he was 
suspected of having visited was carefully searched, 
but not the slightest trace of gold was found. The 
remaining Indians were questioned, but they all 
professed entire ignorance on the subject; yet one 
by one they left the estate. The peons on the estate, 



48 CHILI MINERS. 

to the present time, relate a similar story as happen- 
ing to their patron's father. I cannot vouch for the 
truth of the tale, but relate it as I heard it. 

Stories of rich mines, only known to the Indians, 
are common enough, but which mines they dare not 
touch themselves. Some may have foundation, but, 
of course, exaggerated — others probably have none 
at all ; but it is certain that some of the pure Indians 
have strange traditions on the subject, handed down 
from father to son, but whether correct or not it is 
impossible to say. 

As a race of men (physically speaking), the north 
of Chili miners are fine : they are very seldom above 
the middle height, but of immense power and strength. 
This great development of muscle does not proceed 
from the breed, nearly as much as it does from the 
severe training they undergo from their youth, which 
hard training brings on old age rather prematurely. 
In form and feature they are not to be compared with 
the Anglo-Saxon race; but in the peculiar way in 
which they have to exert their strength it would be 
difficult anywhere to meet their match. 

As a great portion of the poj)ulation in northern 
Chili are, have been, or will be, miners, a few remarks 
on their habits and training may be interesting to 
those readers who are fond of ethnological researches. 

The working miners are divided into two principal 
classes — the first class is the barretero, or the man 
who bores and blasts.; the second is the apiri, or 
man who carries on his back the proceeds of the blast 



STRENGTH OF THE MINERS. 49 

to the surface of the mine, and separates the ore from 
the rubbish. The barretero gets higher wages than 
the apiri, and only gets his rank after having served 
a rather long apprenticeship in the latter situation. 
The weight some of these apiris will carry from the 
bottom of a deep mine to the surface, up ladders 
made by simply cutting deep notches in a tree, is 
astonishing. 

I have often seen them coming out of a mine so 
bathed in perspiration that it dripped freely on to the 
ground, and the men were nearly naked. I have 
frequently weighed their load at the mouth of a mine, 
and many of them would constantly bring up about ten 
or eleven arrobas of twenty-five joounds each, Spanish 
(rather more than English pounds) ; but one day an 
apiri, well known for his strength, was coming up, 
when he was met halfway by another going down, who 
told him that the French and American Consuls were 
on a visit to the patron, who intended to weigh his 
load. The man returned to the bottom of the mine 
and stufied his ' capacho ' as full as it could hold with 
the heaviest ore, and, when he came to the surface, he 
left traces as if he had been through a river ; for the 
mine was very deep. When he had thrown the 
' capacho ' down it was with much difficulty that two 
men could get it to the scales, when it was found to 
weigh fifteen arrobas and a quarter, or about three 
hundred and eighty pounds. I ^should have been 
afraid to have asserted this, had it not been well 
known and witnessed by several. 

D 



50 DUTY ON COPPER ORE. 

The apiri is constantly practising boring blast- 
holes^ in order to get the requisite strength of arm 
for hitting with a very heavy hammer ; and at length 
he obtains the great object of his ambition — the rank 
of barretero. 

A barretero ought to have great strength of arm, 
for he has to turn the ' barreno ' or borer with his 
left hand, and at the same time wield a ten or twelve 
pound hammer with the other ; and I have known a 
man strike a hundred blows with a fourteen pound 
hammer in succession, exactly over his head. The 
barretero always has with him a twenty-five pound 
hammer, with which he sometimes finishes, double- 
handed; but I never saw a man work single-handed 
with so heavy a one. 

When the barretero is incapable of pursuing his 
vocation any longer, owing to premature age, he then 
seeks a situation as major-domo of some mine ; and 
he is generally an active, good director of works 
inside the mines. 

Copper ore is the only raw material that pays an 
export duty on leaving Chili. K duty oicght to be 
paid on gold, silver, and ' plata piiia ;* but a great 
portion of these is smuggled on board ship. The 
larger bulk of copper and copper ore renders it im- 
possible to avoid paying the duty, and they are 
weighed on the wharf before shipping. Until lately, 
copper ore could only be transported to England in 
English and Chilian vessels; and it served to fill up 
many an English vessel with a home freight, that 



ADVANTAGES TO CHILIAN MINERS. 51 

now will have to return empty ; and though it would 
be very foolish to give any opinion on the general 
effect the repeal of the Navigation Laws will have on 
British shipping, and which repeal has not yet had a 
fair trial, yet, in the particular case of vessels trading 
on the west coast of America, it will be a heavy blow 
and discouragement. 

If any one supposes that, in this individual case, if 
a cargo of copper ore be conveyed from Ooquimbo to 
Swansea in a foreign vessel at £S a ton, instead of in 
an English one at £'5, any good is done to the Eng- 
lish consumer by reducing the price of copper, I 
think, with all humility, that he is mistaken. 

Great injury must be done to the English ship- 
owner who cannot get a freight home : some good 
will be done to the foreign owner who does get the 
freight ; and a great advantage is given to the Chilian 
miner without any reciprocity, owing to the difference 
of freight going entirely into his pocket, and who 
certainly will not buy a yard of cloth or calico more 
than he did before. 

He knows well the price of copper at Swansea, and, 
being rather acute, would be sure, in case freight is 
reduced by £2 a ton, to add that £2 to the price he 
asks for his ore ; but the best way to illustrate an 
argument is to cite a case in point, and that case I 
have often witnessed. Let us consider a purchase of 
ore for exportation, the purchaser an Englishman, 
the vendor a Chilian mine proprietor : the bargain 
is carried on pretty nearly in the following way : — 

D 2 



52 PURCHASE OF ORE FOR EXPORTATION. 

' Senor, you have a quantity of copper ore for sale; 
what will you take for the whole parcel?' — 'Yes,* 
answers the proprietor, 'I have so many cajons 
(about three times as many tons) ; they have been 
sampled and essayed : you may sample them and 
essay them yourself; but they give so much (say 28 
per cent, of fine copper.)' ' Very well — what is the 
price ?' is the next question. The proprietor, who. as 
before remarked, knows pretty well what he is about, 
pulls out the last account of sales at Swansea. 'I 
see here, sir, that by the last news from Swansea, the 
standard of copper is so-and-so, and if you will look 
at the sales, you will find that Chilian ore, containing 
28 per cent, (the same as these), sold for dG25 per 
ton.' Then out comes a Valparaiso gazette. ' I see 
also by this paper/ he continues, ' that freights by 
foreign ships to England are so rnuch. We hotli 
know what the expenses down to the coast will 
amount to, as also those for export duties, weighing, 
and shipping.— I am perfectly aware what the land- 
ing, commission, and other expenses come to at 
Swansea. Now, add these different amounts toge- 
ther and deduct the total from the ^25. Pay me the 
remainder at the present rate of exchange with Eng- 
land, and you may take the ore/ 

Now who, in this particular case, would pocket the 
difference of freight.? It surely seems that the miner 
would. Who would also be benefited ? Why the 
foreigner who gets the freight, although at a cheaper 
rate than an English vessel could afford to carry it 



PRODUCTIONS OF CHILI. 63 

at: and the reason is clear. Dutch, Danish, Swedish, 
Hamburg, and all the vessels belonging to the Baltic, 
can afford to offer to take these freights because 
England is just in their way home. They can take 
the ore to Swansea, and in a very few days can be 
loaded again for their own country ; they could take 
bar and sheet copper, and even if they could not get 
that, they could always load with coal. 

All vessels belonging to those nations are thus 
sure of three freights for the whole voyage ; and 
might have four, if they called at an English port on 
their way out, unloaded timber, hemp, hides, &c., 
and took an English cargo round the Horn. But 
the English vessel has no intermediate port: she 
goes straight out, and must come straight home; 
and the owner thinks himself lucky if his vessel is 
filled up both ways. But I am afraid — though I 
trust heartily that I am in error — that the chance of 
his procuring a cargo home will be sadly diminished. 

But in every great change, some particular interest 
must suffer, especially at first. The principle of 
free trade will now have a fair trial, and a very few 
years will sufl&ce to test well its merits. 

In a mercantile point of view, gold, silver, and 
copper, are the principal productions of Chili, espe- 
cially for exportation ; but the country is very rich 
in agricultural produce, and large quantities of white 
wheat are exported to Peru, and other parts of the 
coast. There are two sorts, white and red. Both 
sorts give abundant crops ; and in many places in 



54 ABUNDANCE OF FRUIT. 

Chili, good white wheat may be bought for a Uttle 
more than a dollar the fanega (about 160 lbs. weight), 
and I have often known the price at three-quarters 
of a dollar. Melons, both water and musk, are 
sown in the open fields, and are abundant and very 
cheap, wherever irrigation can be procured ; peaches, 
nectarines, and apricots, grow on standard trees, as 
apples do in our orchards. Every vegetable or fruit 
which we know in Europe is easily raised ; but as to 
most of the tropical fruits, the dry climate, and 
especially the cold night land-winds, would destroy 
them in a few days. The plantain, the banana, the 
shaddock, the pine- apple, the granadina, and, as she 
is called, the queen of fruits, the chirimoya, are un- 
knowTi in Chili, except by name. 

I now come to a class of the productions in Chili 
with which I am more immediately acquainted, and 
that class is the animal one. Horses, cattle, game, 
beasts, and birds, — also the mode of capturing, hunt- 
ing, and shooting them; and as the horse is the 
principal agent in all out-door work, and used by 
the very lowest beggar as well as by the richest land- 
lord, I will commence with the peculiarities of the 
Chilian race. 



55 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE CHILIAN HOESE — ITS CHAEACTEEISTICS — SANTIAGO TO 
COQUIMBO — PEIMITIYE MODE OF THEASHINO — THE VAM- 
PIEE BAT. 

IN England, we should call the Chilian horse small, 
for his average height is from fourteen to fifteen 
hands high ; but he very rarely attains to the latter. 
I had what was considered a very large black horse, 
but when I measured him, he was only fifteen hands. 
Most of the horses have capital points — small head 
with broad forehead, and well set on; wide chest, 
slanting shoulder, well barrelled, strong loins, and 
clean flat legs, short under the knee; good hard feet; 
plenty of courage, and a constitution of iron — these 
are the principal features of the breed. One fault the 
Chilian horse has that is not seen at first, on account 
of the pains taken throughout the whole country to 
hide it, and that is, they are all ewe-necked. The 
defect is hidden by cropping the mane repeatedly 
when young, and at last, when the horse is broken 
in, the mane is trimmed or hogged very neatly, and 
gives an appearance of crest to the horse, to which he 
has not the remotest pretension; but it is not unlikely 
that this very fault is one cause of the extraordinary 
lightness in hand, and beauty of mouth, for which tlie 
Chilian horse is proverbial. 



56 CHILIAN HOESES. 

The distance they can travel for days and days 
together, with no other sustenance but what they can 
pick up during the night on some hill-side, with the 
bitter winds from the Andes sweeping over them, 
would rather astonish some English gentlemen, who 
think their horses would soon go to the knackers 
unless they passed the night, after a long journey, in 
a comfortable stable ; yet these horses are ready and 
fit for their work the next morning. 

The reason of such a difference in their relative 
constitutions is probably this: — in England, we begin 
to make our horses do more than simply gain their 
livelihood at two and three years old. At four years 
old, they generally are at very hard work, before their 
bones, muscles, and sinews have gained their power 
and strength, and before their constitutions are fully 
formed ; they soon wear out, and although at seven 
or eight years of age they have learnt a great deal, 
yet by that time they are very often sadly in want of 
a new set of legs. Also, the transition from a warm 
stable to a cold bitter wind ; or, just as bad, from the 
cold to a hot stable, soon undermines the constitution 
of a young horse, and are the principal causes of the 
many ills to which ' horse-flesh is heir/ 

They manage these things, if not better, at least 
differently in Chili. The horse is born and passes all 
his hfe in the open air ; and mostly for the first four 
years on the mountains, where the half-wild horned 
cattle pass nine-tenths of their life ; and although at 
the great yearly ' rodeo' he is driven down with the 
rest to be counted, and on one occasion to be branded. 



MANAGEMENT OF HORSES. 57 

he is scarcely ever backed and broken in until four or 
five years of age, and seldom does any hard work 
until later. 

Mares are never ridden in Chili ; but roaming 
about half- wild imjoart to their foals their own hardy 
constitution. Thus the horse has acquired his full 
growth and strength before he is called upon for great 
exertion, and wlieri he is, his good health and consti- 
tution both enable him to perform it, and after a long 
day's journey to defy the bitter blasts from the snowy 
Andes. At seven or eight years of age he is consi- 
dered almost a colt. I have often asked a man the 
age of his horse, and have been told, ^ Oh, quite 
young ; he is only twelve years old.' 

Another remarkable point in the Chilian horse is 
the perfection in which he is bitted, especially for the 
use of the lasso, which is the case with ninety-nine 
horses out of a hundred. 

A well-bitted horse ought to be able to pull up 
sharp on the very top of his speed, and make a Avhole 
turn round, almost at the same instant, on his own 
ground. No other horse can do it, for the simple 
reason that no other nation requires their horses to 
perform this particular feat ; but in Chili it is indis- 
pensable. In the great Pampa plains the horses are 
very badly bitted, and a Chilian would scarcely accept 
a Pampa horse as a gift, on account of his wretched 
mouth and soft feet, and the gauchos on those plains 
do not want high breaking-in for lassoing on those 
flats, as there are no obstacles to avoid ; but in Chili. 

D 3 



58 MANAGEMEIST OF HORSES. 

if you have a bull at the end of your lasso, and he is 
tearing down a hill as steep as the roof of a house, 
without footing for you to settle your horse to cast 
him, you must follow at the same pace until you 
arrive at a safer piece of ground ; but should the bull 
take one side of a tree on his way down, and your 
horse not be bitted well enough to make a quick 
round turn, and enable you to pass the same side as 
the bull, the tree would take the centre of the lasso, 
and bull and horse meet face to face ; therefore the 
Chilians are obliged to have beautifully broken-in 
horses. 

I can give an instance of this bitting which I have 
often seen tried, and tried myself ; indeed, almost all 
my horses could perform the same feat. 

The hide of an ox, freshly killed, and, conse- 
quently, slippery, is pegged down to the ground, 
with the hair below and the fresh side above. The 
horse is galloped on to it at the top of his speed, 
and, when he feels the check, makes the ^ yuelta,' as 
it is termed, or the entire round on his hind legs, 
bringing down his fore-feet on the skin, so that he 
stands exactly as if he had been only pulled up very 
sharp. 

I had generally between twenty and thirty horses 
for myself and servants for my frequent journeys, and 
also kept two or three in stable condition for especial 
occasions in towns ; but the latter horses would not 
stand roughing it, like those which had scarcely ever 
seen a stable ; and yet they managed to keep a fine 
coat for the greatest part of the year. 



MODES OF TRAVELLING. 59 

From Santiago to Coquimbo is about four hundred 
and fifty miles by the road ; although, as before men- 
tioned, they are only three degrees of latitude apart ; 
but in some parts of the road, where the mountains 
approach the sea, it is intersected every two or three 
miles by tremendous deep quebradas, or ravines, with 
generally a stream running at the bottom ; and 
though often a rifle would carry and kill sure (if held 
straight) from side to side, yet the zizzag descent and 
the ascent to the opposite side will frequently take 
half-an-hour and more to perform. 

Having often to make this journey, I had^ as usual, 
two modes of doing it : the first mode fast and with- 
out luggage ; the second far more moderately paced, 
and with a few laden mules. In travelling fast, 
neither my servant nor myself carried beyond what 
our * alforcas,' or saddle-bags, could hold, and our 
pillions, or sheepskins, made our beds. 

A young light lad (son of a servant) rode a-head, 
leading a handsome mare with a bell round her neck, 
and he regulated the pace by signs from the rear ; 
the other horses then followed at the same pace, and 
the rear was brought up by myself and servants, 
spreading sometimes out a little, to prevent the loose 
horses straggling to the right or left. 

We generally started, except when the road was 
very bad, about an hour before sunrise, and rode the 
same horses until about eleven o'clock, when, if a 
favourable spot for lassoing occurred, we rode into 
the troop, and each lassoed a fresh horse, the tired 
ones going on with tlie loose ones. 



60 A LATE BREAKFAST. 

A day's journey ought to be finished by half-past 
three o'clock, or, at the latest, four in the afternoon, 
to allow time for the sun to dry the- horses' backs 
thoroughly before the cold night wind sets in from 
the Cordillera, which produces bad sores. A lamb, 
kid, or a few fowls are then purchased, and we sit 
down to the only meal we have during the day, about 
sunset. Many persons cannot start in the morning 
without breakfast, and that may do for slow work, but 
not ioT fast work. Travellers ought to be twenty-five 
miles on their road before breakfast can be made 
ready and eaten. 

A hearty breakfast before starting only makes a 
horseman who goes fast feverish and uncomfortable 
all the day's ride ; but a cigar or two, a crust of 
bread, and a glass of brandy-and-water at noon, are 
ample, for a person going his eighty miles a day, 
until supper. He enjoys his meal as few can enjoy 
it; he makes his bed generally under the clear sky, 
and sleeps a sleep that no feather bed could procure 
him; he awakes the next morning two hours before 
sunrise, gets his horses collected and in order, and 
finds himself as fresh as they are. 

I have often done the distance between Santiago 
and Coquimbo, with the same troop of horses, in five 
or sometimes six days, but without baggage, — though 
it has taken me ten long days, having with me mules 
rather lightly laden. I have done the distance in 
less time, on an emergency. It is generally the 
custom, when travelling slowly, to ride one horse a 



STEENGTH OF THE CHILIAN HORSES. 61 

whole day, and then allow him two days' rest, running 
loose. Gentlemen mostly allow their servants, for a 
journey of four hundred or five hundred miles, three 
horses apiece, and keep five or six for themselves, in 
case any extra speed be required. 

It is astonishing the weight these rather small 
horses have to carry. Next to the skin of the animal 
are one or two thick ^ sudaderos,' or sweating cloths ; 
over these are four or five pillions, made from the 
skin of a breed between the goat and the sheep, but 
not made of such fine skins as the ones over the 
saddle ; then comes the saddle, with its silver cantle 
and pommel, and heavy, carved box stirrups, and is 
tightly girthed up. Over the saddle are placed the 
saddle-bags, and over those five or six handsome and 
valuable pillions. On the top of all is a thin seat 
of handsomely-dressed leather, or of some wild-beast 
skin, the whole girthed up a second time with a 
massive surcingle, to which are attached the iron 
rings to which the lasso is made fast. 

The above weights, together with the very heavy 
spurs, and in cases where travellers carry gun, 
pistols, and ammunition, make up a weight unknown 
to the English horse, that has to travel fast and far. 
I put into the scales one day every article my horses 
generally had to carry, and the whole weighed down 
two hundred and twenty pounds (Spanish), or above 
sixteen stone. Only weighing ten stone ten j)ounds 
myself, there remained five stone and upwards dead 
weight; but the reason these animals carry the 



62 DISEASES OF THE CHILIAN HORSE. 

burden easily, is, that it is more equally distributed 
along the back than with our saddles. Their saddle- 
frames are long, and press equally upon all parts of 
the tops of the ribs, leaving a clear hollow over the 
back-bone, and never tire a horse on one particular 
spot. 

Taking every situation in which a horse can be 
useful into consideration, there is no nation possesses 
a more useful breed for the purposes for which they 
are required. The Chilian does not want a cart- 
horse, nor a race-horse : he wants a serviceable, 
useful nag ; fast enough to overtake cattle or horses, 
strong enough to pull a bull down in his career, and 
of a constitution hardy enough to stand the change 
from a burning hot day to a cold night in the open 
air, — and the Chilian Ims Just got what he wants. 

The diseases of the Chilian horse are few ; and 
when stables are used in towns, they are mere sheds, 
entirely open to the rear. Glanders, farcy, and all 
contagious maladies, are quite unknown, and most of 
the others arise either from accident or ill-treatment. 
The principal ones are, ^despechado' (foundered in 
the shoulder), 'cortado' (broken- winded), and feyer 
in the feet, — mostly caused by riding a poor beast an 
immense distance without shoes. Colic is often pro- 
duced by giving horses green food after barley; and 
sometimes the animals go mad, from eating a herb 
called 'yerba loca' (mad- grass). I have never seen 
that disease that is so fatal in English hot stables — 
viz., inflammation of the lungs — except in one case, 



PRIMITIVE MODE OF THRESHING. 63 

and it was found the horse had staked himself; but, 
with the above exceptions, the Ohihan horse is 
almost free from the many ills incident to the 
European animal. 

I suspect that the science of thrashing out corn has 
scarcely advanced a point in Chih, since wheat was 
first sown there, and that the first farmers must have 
learnt the mode from the Holy Scriptures. The only 
improvement is that they work faster than with oxen 
treading the corn out, for they use horses, or rather 
mares. 

A temporary corral is formed in every field, and 
proportioned to its size, and the corn piled up in the 
centre of it. As before mentioned, mares are never 
ridden except by the very poorest, and the only duty 
they have to perform, beyond rearing foals and mules, 
is thrashing or treading out corn. In a large hacienda, 
perhaps two or three hundred mares are driven down 
to the vicinity of the corn corral, or ' trillo,' and 
divided into separate parties to relieve each other. 
The ground of the corral is mostly chosen for its hard 
quality, and is often artificially made. The circle 
next the enclosure is then strewed with the straw in 
ear, and a division of mares (unshod) are driven in, 
followed by about half a dozen peons on horse-hdiok. 
The troop are then driven round and round the 
corral on the wheat laid down ; reversing the order 
of from right to left, to left to right, as much for the 
sake of getting out all the grain, as for saving the 
horses a peculiar giddiness. When the first portion 



64 PRIMITIVE MODE OF THRESHING. 

of the wheat thus strewed is supposed by the major- 
domo to be thoroughly threshed, the division of 
mares is driven out, kept apart and away from water, 
while another division is being driven in. 

In the interval, the corn and broken straw is brushed 
outwards, and afresh layer of wheat laid down for the 
fresh troop of mares, who are driven by fresh peons 
on fresh horses ; for the work at first is really very 
hard, all the animals having to make a succession of 
buck-leaps, many times round, before the straw is 
trodden down enough to gallop smoothly, — and they 
are not very easy to sit, when the riders are not 
accustomed to it. 

Sometimes the contents of a corral will take two or 
three days to thrash out ; but when the grain is fairly 
galloped out of the straw, the whole is swept into the 
centre, and the temporary corral removed ; a set of 
peons are then set to work, for the purpose of separat- 
ing the grain from the straw and chafi". 

This can only be done upon a day when a breeze of 
wind is blowing ; for the peons, standing on the heap, 
throw shovelfuls high in the air, but following the 
course of the wind, as the wind at this time of the 
year always blows nearly from the south during the 
day-time, a new pile of pretty clean wheat is formed 
to lee-ward, and another pile of straw some yards 
beyond. The straw that has been thus broken by 
this mode of threshing looks like chopped straw, in 
pieces two or three inches long, and serves the pur- 
pose that hay does in the north of Europe. Horses 



THE VAMPIRE BAT. 65 

in Chili are, if they belong to any ^^erson Tvho can 
afford it, fed, when tied up, on this straw, mixed with 
barley. 

Before leaving the subject of the horse, it would be 
as well to mention some of his torments, or rather 
tormenters. 

As a colt in the hills, he has only to fear the Puma 
lion, which beast is scarce ; and the condor, which 
bird is most abundant, but would scarcely attack a 
colt unless he was bogged. During his life he has 
little to fear from the 'araiia de caballo' (horse- 
spider), so destructive in Central America; but he 
has an adversary which, though to the horse not 
even disagreeable, is very much so to his owner on a 
journey, and that is, the large vampire bat. This 
bird, or beast, is common enough in Chili, but what- 
ever rank of the animal creation it belongs to, it has 
luxurious habits, and chooses its habitation, no doubt, 
for the same reasons the comfortable monks of yore 
chose the site of their monasteries — viz., sheltered 
fertile spots, well wooded, well watered, pleasant to 
the view, and affording the food they delighted in. 

Should the traveller, at the end of a long day's 
journey, turn his horses out for the night on a bleak 
open spot, near the sea-shore or foot of the moun- 
tains, from whence the chilly night-winds proceed, he 
will be pretty sure to find, the next morning, that 
his animals have not suffered from the vampire; but 
when he takes up his abode for the night in a plea- 
sant romantic spot, with a clear sparkling stream 



66 THE VAMPIRE BAT. 

running close to him, a quantity of fine trees about 
him, interspersed here and there with wild rocks that 
seem to have fallen from the skies, he may make up 
his mind that some of his horses will have been 
visited during the night, and although the horse 
cares nothing about the visit, the rider does, for 
the animal performs his next day's work with dif- 
ficulty. 

The few horses who have full manes are more 
subject to the blood-sucking of the vampire-bat, in 
their necks than horses with cropped m^nes, because 
the bat gets a slight hold of the mane, and keeping 
the horse quiet by fanning the head with its wings, 
runs its beak or rather teeth into some vein, and in a 
short time sucks an enormous quantity of blood from 
the poor beast. But the bat often makes its attack 
from the rear, and hanging on the tail, soon finds a 
vein to practise phlebotomy upon. 

The horse loses a great quantity of blood; for be- 
sides what the vampire carries away with it, the animal 
is streaked down to his feet with clotted blood, and a 
large pool is generally found near him. 

I have seldom made a long journey without some 
of my horses having been thus bled, and have fre- 
quently in consequence had to shorten my next day's 
journey, but these accidents occur almost always in 
the summer time. . 

In Central America, the vampire-bat will not only 
bleed your horses, but I have often found some of 
my own fowls, that roosted in the open air, dead and 



THE VAMPIRE BAT. 67 

stiff on their perches, with the blood so exhausted 
from the rear by this flying leech, that the flesh vras 
whiter than any fowl I had previously seen; and yet 
the bird must have died, since it remained on the 
perch, insensible that the ' Barber Surgeon,' as some 
persons call this bat, had the lancet in it. 



68 



OHAPTEE V. 

HOENED CATTLE OF CHILI — THE ANNUAL EODEO — BOASTING 
A CALF — THE MANTANZA. 

I WILL now try to describe the horned cattle of 
OhiH, and the wild way in which they are treated ; 
and although I am aware all our great breeders would 
look upon the breed with contempt, still it has, like 
the horses, very good points, and especially adapted 
for the country. 

In the first place the breed is very hardy, living 
until four or five years old in a state of wildness; 
when those who are destined to be slaughtered are 
put into potreros or meadows, and in three or four 
months they improve in a wonderful manner; the 
change from scanty food to good lucern soon tells on 
the carcase. 

As the breed of horses was originally brought from 
Andalusia, in Spain, so all the cattle of Chili are from 
South of Spain origin; but they do not in the least 
resemble the cattle we now see tame in Andalusia, 
and still less those monstrous horned beasts lately 
imported from Corrufia, with immense horns, very 
large bone, little flesh, and less fat. The Chilian 
cattle resemble more the short-horned breed, half- 
wild, on the sierras, about Ronda, Grenada, and 



HORNED CATTLE. 69 

Cordova^ in Spain, and are also very like, in some 
points, the cattle of Fez, Barbary, and Morocco. 

Like the last mentioned animals, they are letter 
hred; being very light below the knee and hocks — 
they are small boned, but make flesh much faster 
than fat; but they fatten also when well fed. During 
their whole lifetime, except their last fattening process 
in the meadows, they live on the mountains, are 
very savage, and are so aristocratic, that they will 
very often charge a humble pedestrian, though he 
might be shooting with a ' Joe Manton,' over a brace 
of English dogs, while they fly from a horseman; 
most likely on account of the uncomfortable remi- 
niscences of previous falls they had experienced from 
the lasso. However, as no man ever goes on foot, 
except now and then a stray Englishman in pursuit 
of game, and he knows how to defend himself, there 
is not much harm done by them. 

The difference between a rainy year and a di-y one 
is soon known by the appearance of the cattle when 
driven down to the great corral, at the grand annual 
'rodeo;' which being a sort of festival on every 
estate, both for patron and peon, I will give an 
account of; although perhaps the ground has been 
already trodden on, and the trail stale ; but I do not 
relate as a looker on, but as an actor on such scenes 
for some years. I will pick out one of many * rodeos' 
to which I was invited, and which I attended. 

Three Chilian gentlemen who owned a very large 
and valuable estate, and who had invariably during 



70 DESCRIPTION OF A RODEO. 

three years given my horses the run of their meadows, 
without which they must have starved, — and also 
never would allow me to pay anything for their keep, 
— invited me to a ^ rodeo* of cattle. I will describe 
one ; and the same will answer for many, or all, with 
the sole diflference of ^ location.' 

The kindness of these gentlemen allowing me to 
send my horses to them, can only be appreciated 
by one who has twenty or thirty animals to feed, 
and has nothing to feed them on, within fifty miles. 
The three brothers had been educated in France, and 
they were most gentlemanly and of high feeling, both 
by education and by birth. Everybody who knows 
the north of Chili, knows to what family I allude ; 
and in describing their ^ rodeo,' I only describe what 
all the neighbouring people, rich or poor, were in- 
vited to. 

It must be first remarked that a ' rodeo' of cattle 
generally takes place in September, and as the 
' matanza,' or general killing, usually takes place 
in January, the cattle chosen for the great annual 
slaughter enjoy about three or four months in rich 
irrigated meadows, that they may get well fattened 
before being killed. 

A party of about sixteen arrived at the hacienda 
the previous afternoon, each well provided with lassos, 
&c. As my horses were all shod, my host promised 
to provide me with unshod horses the next day ; for 
a shod horse has no chance on the side of a rocky 
mountain, and horses kept for the hills have hoofs as 
hard as ebony or iron-wood. We dined about five 



THE RODEO. 7J 

o'clock^ and a merry dinner it was ; but, beforehand, 
most of the tenants were mustered on horseback, 
with the exception of those who lived too far off, and 
who had previously received their orders. They then 
divided into many separate parties, and rode off to 
the summits of the range of mountains that nearly 
surrounded us. At about eleven o'clock at night we 
all went out to the front of the house to see if the 
parties had arrived at their different posts, and on 
most of the mountain-tops we saw fires blazing as 
signals that they had taken up their positions, and 
also naturally to keep themselves warm. We then 
turned in, and turned out early the next morning to 
secure our horses for the day. We were told, how- 
ever, not to be in a hurry, for the duty of the tenants 
and peons before daybreak was to thoroughly hunt 
and scour all the sides and gullies of the mountains 
most remote from the plains to which the cattle were 
to be driven, and so we had plenty of time for a 
hearty early breakfast. 

A little after sunrise, looking through my small 
telescope, I could see the various tops of the moun- 
tains swarming with cattle being driven slowly down 
towards the plains below, and our whole party then 
mounted and proceeded to the large cattle corral, 
erected in a very wild spot, about five miles fr'om the 
house. We went rather fast, and found a ' ramada,' 
or hut, composed of green branches with the leaves 
on, built for us to live and sleep in for a day or two. 
Our host said that he could not have a regular house 
or cottage built there, on account of the ' benchucas,' 



72 A PRIMITIVE OVENe 

or large filthy flying bugs that infest all thatched 
houses in that country; but that he had a fresh 
ramada built every year, and very pleasant it was.* 

As we were waiting, near the corral, for news 
from the mountains, another curious thing attracted 
my attention, and that was a fine calf lately killed, 
and lying alongside of a pit dug in the ground, 
looking like a grave. The pit was lined with stones, 
and a huge furnace-like fire kindled in it. The 
calf w^as then taken to a small stream close bv, and 
the inside cleaned. It was also skinned, except a 
narrow strip along the spine : it was then brought 
back to the edge of the pit, and the empty stomach 
was filled with all sorts of good things. The kidneys, 
heart, onions, potatoes, chesnuts, salt, peppers, chilis, 
spices, &c. &c., were all stuffed in, and the hide 
brought round together again and sewed, or, rather, 
laced up, along the stomach. The fire was then 
abated, by throwing green leaves on it, and the calf 
in its own skin, ^carne con cuero,' was carefully 
deposited on its back in the pit, the skin acting as 
the holder and receptacle of the gravy. The whole 
was then covered with more leaves, and buried com- 
pletely with earth and stones. 

Just as the calf was consigned to his oven, we were 
called to our saddles by the news that the advanced 
guard of the herds was debouching on to the 



* " Benclmca:" I scarcely know if the word is riglitly 
spelt, but it is pronoiuiced as written. These flying bugs are 
more than an inch in length, the bite is very painful, and 
when the animal is crushed the smell is fetid in the extreme. 



MANAGEMENT OF WILD CATTLE. 73 

f)lains, and ^e went to help the herdsmen and peons 
in their rather arduous task of taking about five 
thousand half wild cattle over about six or seven 
miles of broken plain. The gentlemen here are of 
the greatest use, though they would not be of much 
service in the slow work of driving the cattle down to 
the plains. The peons' horses are generally rather 
tired with their mountain work before they get down, 
and the gentlemen help them on fresh horses, by 
keeping the wilder animals in order. When one bull 
dashes out, two of the gentlemen are after him, and 
not only lasso him, but, unless he is a very handsome 
animal, tame him for life, and drive him into the 
herd. When four or five bulls rush away at once, 
the peons have enough to do to prevent the remainder 
following them, and the gentlemen hunting in pairs 
do good service. 

These sort of chases are very exhilarating; for, 
though there is not much danger, there is just enough 
to be a little exciting, and I have often known severe 
accidents. 

Two or three steady yoke of oxen are generally 
sent to head the herd with long wooden yokes on 
their necks. They answer two purposes ; for they 
lead the way, and persuade the herd to follow them ; 
and also when any animal is very vicious he is lassoed, 
and his horns made fast to the yoke between the two 
tame oxen, who soon bring his spirit down and make 
him go quietly along. Also, if a runaway bull is 
particularly obstreporous, when he is thrown, one of 

E 



74 A CORRAL. 

his hind legs is made fast to his horns, and he is left 
on the ground until a yoke of oxen can be spared to 
go and fetch him. 

After many courses in pursuit of the wilder cattle, 
the herd at length arrives at the corral; the tame 
ones go in first, the horsemen form a double line, and 
at last they are all safe in the interior. 

A 'corral' has often been described, but I doubt if 
Englishmen in general understand what a cattle corral 
for a ' rodeo ' really is. A corral is generally under- 
stood to be rather a small enclosure of some thirty 
yards in diameter, into which horses are driven, and 
there lassoed or secured ; but a corral destined to 
receive many thousand head of cattle is a large spot, 
and although it is considered right to crowd them 
together very closely in order to prevent riot, yet still 
some thousands of cattle, packed ever so thickly, will 
occupy a good space of ground. 

The walls of the corrals near the house itself of my 
friends, were formed of ' adobes,' or large mud -bricks, 
and these corrals were only meant for horses, and the 
cattle that were picked out for the great killing in 
January ; but the large corrals for cattle are generally 
composed of strong piles of wood driven deep into the 
ground, and connected one with another. It is not 
easy to judge exactly the size of a plot of ground, but 
from this corral being about one hundred paces in 
diameter, it must have been about two English acres, 
but divided into a large partition and a smaller one, 
the last being intended for the cattle separated for the 
' matanza.' 



A PANIC DESCRIBED. 75 



This separation was to be effected the next day, and 
is generally performed by gentlemen, aided by the 
major-domos of the estate. The calves are also sepa- 
rated, placed in a small enclosure, and the mothers 
allowed to roam about, and feed near them, as they 
are sure not to wander. 

It was five or six o'clock in the afternoon before all 
the cattle were safe, and the gate secured ; men were 
placed at intervals on the outside of the corral, to 
prevent man or beast approaching to frighten the 
animals, for sometimes a very slight cause, such as 
the sight or smell of a fox, will produce a sudden 
panic, and the cattle, wild with fear, will burst all 
restraints, and gallop away to the mountains. 

This panic is a curious thing, for it sometimes 
seizes a herd without any seeming motive, nor must 
it be wondered at, as it sometimes attacks the bravest 
bodies of trained soldiers. During the Peninsular 
War, one of the finest divisions that ever carried arms 
was asleep in a wood; — suddenly, in the middle 
of the night, a simultaneous^;a;^^<:? struck the whole of 
the men, and it was only by the commanding officer 
telling a bugler to sound the " alarm of cavalry '* that 
they were rallied. 

We then proceeded to the rancho, and sat down to 
a good, wild, country dinner ; for the calf could not 
be well baked until a late breakfast the next day. — 
We made our beds with our saddle- skins, and after a 
cigar and a night-cap, were soon fast asleep. 

The next morning we all proceeded on foot to the 

E 2 



76 THE FATTED CALF. 

small corral to brand the calves with the owner's 
mark, and then returned to the long anticipated 
breakfast. The fatted calf, baked to perfection, was 
deposited on the grass, with the legs in the air ; we 
then took our seats all round it ; the lacing down the 
stomach was cut, the hide spread out hke a large dish, 
and some twelve or fourteen large dagger-knives, 
always carried on the person, soon were cutting away 
at the '^ piece de resistance y 

The most constant attendant upon city feasts ; the 
most fastidious follower and admirer of Ude, Careme, 
and Soyer, would have pronounced this rather large dish 
undeniably good. Not a single particle of the good- 
ness or flavour of the calf could possibly have escajDed 
through the hide ; though done to perfection, the 
meat retained all its juices, and we certainly did jus- 
tice to it. When we had finished, the herdsmen 
attacked the remainder with their long knives and 
keen appetite, and the calf (a large sized one) had its 
bones literally picked clean. The baked hide and 
bones were then given to the herdsmen's dogs, and in 
a very short time the whole of the animal very nearly 
disappeared. There is nothing (roasted) better than 
meat sewed up in its own hide, and baked in a pit ; 
from a buffalo's hump to an entire calf it is as superior 
to any other roast as turtle is to its imitation. After 
breakfast, we all j)roceeded on horseback to the great 
corral, and into the very centre of the crowd of beasts, 
for the purpose of separating those chosen for fatten- 
ing from the remainder. 



THE MATAXZA. 77 

On such occasions, the major-domos and herdsmen 
of adjacent estates also attend, to claim any cattle 
which bear their patron's mark or brand. 

Two lines of horsemen are drawn up as regularly 
as soldiers, and between these lines the animals chosen 
are driven out, one by one, and into a smaller coral. 
The master and his major-domo, followed by his 
guests, ride in among the cattle, and point out one 
to be separated ; two persons immediately place them- 
selves, one on each side of the beast, and sticking 
close to his flanks, force him into the lane of horse- 
men, who shout out, ^Afuera!' — out! out! The 
animal, pressed by a horse on each side of him, and 
also by a few blows from the heavy bridle-whips, or 
the ends of a lasso, gallops through the lane of horse- 
men, and dashes into the smaller partition. When 
the requisite number has thus been separated, the 
remainder are liberated, and away they scamper to 
their native hills. The separated ones are left quiet 
until the others have gone out of sight and scent, 
and are then escorted to the corral of the hacienda. 
They are examined, and afterwards turned out into 
irrigated meadows, full of luxuriant lucern, and soon 
get into capital condition for the great ' matanza ' in 
January. 

The ^ matanza,' also, is a sort of festival for the 
peons; and they enjoy the slaughtering of the cattle 
more than they do the rodeo, as almost all the lasso- 
ing falls to them. January is the month chosen for 
the great kilHng, on account of its being the hottest 



78 THE MATANZA. 

and dryest month in the year, and the charque, or 
jerked beef, gets sooner thoroughly cured. 

The cattle meant to be killed are .driven into the 
corral nearest the house (which generally has the 
curing-yard in the rear) a day or two before, and kept 
without food, that the flesh may be in better order for 
curing ; and, on the morning of the matanza, long 
before day-break, some dozens of mounted peons, 
wdth their lassos, are waiting at the gate of the corral ; 
while all the females of the estate, in their best 
dresses, are watching from the walls and surrounding 
ranchos. 

At the gate of the great curing yard, where the 
cutting up goes on, six, seven, eight, or more pro- 
fessed butchers and charque cutters stand with im- 
mense knives in their hands and daggers in their 
sashes; each butcher is paid according to the number 
he kills and cuts up. 

The owner of the hacienda and his guests take uj) 
their position about sunrise, and then the major-domo, 
accompanied by one or two horsemen, goes into the 
corral, and turn out just as many animals as there are 
butchers. These cattle rush out at a furious pace, 
and immediately a number of peons are galloping 
after them, two or three lassos sometimes going over 
each beast at the same time. Each beast is akiiost 
sure to have a heavy fall, but he is lugged along to 
the great gateway, where the butcher awaits him ; 
this man gives the animal two blows with his heavy 
knife just above the hocks, and thus hamstrings him 



THE MATAXZA. 79 

in both hind legs; pulling out his short, shai^p dagger, 
he runs up towards the head and plunges it into the 
pith of the spine, which kills the animal very sud- 
denly. He then strips the skin off the face of the 
beast, for if he left it for a few minutes, the skin would 
cool and adhere too strongly to the forehead. A yoke 
of oxen are ready, attached to a large loose bull's hide; 
a rope is fastened to the fallen animal's horns ; he is 
dragged on to the hide, and thus conveyed, as on a 
sledge, to the curing yard ; this is done to prevent his 
own hide being injured. 

The carcase at first is only skinned and divided 
into large joints, and in a very short time the butcher 
is again at the gate calling out for a fresh victim. 

The matanza ceases every day at about nine o'clock, 
and the butchers occupy themselves during the re- 
mainder of the day in cutting the flesh into thin 
slices for making charque, or jerked beef. The tallow 
is melted down for candles ; the fat (not the kidney 
and inside fat) is melted and clarified ; it is used all 
over Chili, instead of butter or lard, for cooking. A 
quantity of coarse soap is made from the refuse ; some 
of the hides are sold for exportation, others go to 
various uses on the estate and adjacent mines, and 
the average value of each ox is about twenty- two 
or twenty-three dollars, but near populous towns, 
where fresh meat is daily sold in large quantities, 
oxen will fetch much more.* 



^ The best bull's hides are generally reserved for making 
lassos. 



80 



CHAPTEE VI. 

A PUMA HUNT — BEASTS OF .PEEY — GAME — HAWKING THE 

ployee's SCEATCH. 

rfiHE wild, mischievous beasts in Chili are very few 
J- in number, and rarely do much damage : the 
Puma lion and two sorts of foxes being actually the 
only predatious quadrupeds in the whole country. 
The Pumas are not so large as I have seen in 
Central America, and I never killed one with my own 
hand in Chili, though I have been at hunts when the 
beast has been destroyed. As the manner of hunting 
the animal is different from the description I lately 
gave in a little work upon Central America, I will 
relate how it is sometimes done, but the mode differs 
as the nature of the ground does. 

The mischief the Pumas do is generally confined to 
young cattle, colts, and young mules pasturing near 
the foot of the Andes or other high mountains, which 
are their haunts. They seldom trust themselves any 
distance from their homes on the plains or lower 
grounds, although sometimes hunger induces them to 
go many miles further than usual. 

Unlike the custom in the wild forests of Central 
America, where, if a panther or puma commits ravages, 
his trail is seldom taken up by more than two or 



A PUMA HUNT. 81 

three men, and very often single-handed, in Chili a 
good number, fifteen, twenty, or more, assemble to 
take vengeance on the common foe. Some attend on 
horseback and others on foot — the latter to be able to 
act on rocky spots, but all armed with lassos and 
their usual long knives. Fire-arms are scarce among 
the middle and lower orders in Chili, and, indeed, 
very few good ones are in the possession of the higher 
and richer orders, and the few I have seen have gene- 
rally been cheap, worthless, but ornamented, French 
guns ; the carving on the stocks being worth more 
than the locks and barrels put together. Bows and 
arrows are unknown. 

Every dog in the neighbourhood — from the large, 
ferocious herdsman's dog, down to the tailless sheep 
guardian and the yelping cur — is put into requisition, 
and the party proceeds to the spot where the last 
depredation has been committed by the Puma. 

In one instance when we met to retaliate upon a 
* leon,* who had slaughtered a colt, we mustered about 
fifteen men, more than half on horseback, and the 
others unwillingly on foot, for all Chilians, even the 
commonest beggars, have a mortal aversion to foot- 
padding. 

The trail was soon found, but the Chilians are 
mere infants in following a trail, compared with the 
wild dwellers in woods north of the Darien Isthmus; 
though the latter are perfect children, when compared 
with the Chilians, in the use of the lasso. However, 
with the help of dogs and, now and then, very fresh 

E 3 



82 THE DEATH OF THE PUMA. 

signs on the patches of sandy ground we passed over, 
we concluded, after about an hour's hunt, that we were 
close upon the beast ; and, at last, one. of the foot-men 
viewed him couchant, on a rock half way up a hill too 
steep for horses ; so the men on foot went straight up 
the hill towards him, while we went fast round the foot 
of it, to intercept him in' the valley he would have to 
cross in his retreat to his almost inaccessible haunts. 
I had no fire-arms with me, as I wished to see the 
thing done in the style of the country. On arriving 
at the other side of the hill, we separated some distance 
apart to view the whole valley; but, in a few minutes, 
the puma was seen tearing down the hill, so as to cut 
through the centre of our line, which he did, evidently 
not seeing us, but giving all his attention to his foot 
pursuers. All the horsemen were after him as fast as 
they could gallop, and were gaining on him, at the rate 
of three yards to two, wheii the animal made for a 
small tree that stood in the way, and, jumping into the 
boughs, laid down, seemingly exhausted, on one of 
the horizontal branches. 

'Ah ! we have him now!' said the major-domo, who 
led the hunt; -he cannot escape, if he had all the 
lions in Chili to help him.* 

During the chase, all the lassos had been got ready 
for throwing, and the major-domo himself galloped 
past the tree, at some little distance from the branch 
on which the puma was lying, and cast the lasso just 
round his neck. Spurring his horse, the lasso soon 
became taut, and pulled the lion down to the 
ground with tremendous violence, dragging him along 



BEASTS OF PREY. 88 

half stunned, at the height of a horse's gallop. The 
other horsemen were close behind, and one of them 
lassoed him again round the neck, when both horses 
were pulled up, and, keeping a tight strain on both 
lassos, the small remains of life were soon choaked 
out of the beast. 

The principal haunts of the puma are in the deep 
gullies and ravines that intersect the Andes in every 
direction. Many cattle from the herds that feed on 
the western side of the Cordillera, annually go astray, 
and roam further and further in those wild regions ; 
and their calves, with now and then a guanaco, must 
form the usual food of these carnivorous beasts. 

The panther, so common in Central America, is 
unknown in Chili, and the puma is the only carni- 
vorous wild beast in the country, unless we include 
two sorts of foxes — one about the size of our common 
fox, and the other nearly as large again, and of a deep 
red colour. ' Cunning as a fox,' is an old adage, but 
man, living in the wilds, manages to get the better of 
him. I had many troublesome neighbours^ in the 
shape of foxes, and though I have often coursed them, 
with good dogs, have never run one down, as they 
always take up hill, and then beat the dogs hollow — 
down hill, the dogs have a better chance. I have fre- 
quently shot the two species, and when I have known 
them to be actually in a garden or vineyard have often 
caught them by placing nooses in the gaps all round ; 
dogs are then turned into the vineyard, and the fox is 
too frightened to look carefully at the spot where he 
makes his exit, and is sometimes caught by the neck. 



84 SNAKES. 

There are no wolves in Chili and no cuyotes, or wild 
dogs, which are such a plague in Central America. 
There are no stags, roebucks, or deer of any kind — at 
least, in the extensive part of that country with which 
I am acquainted. Hares and rabbits are unknown, 
and, were they even introduced, the enormous quantity 
of condors, eagles, vultures, and large falcons of every 
sort, together with the foxes, would soon exterminate 
them. 

The sportsman is free from one thing in Chih, and 
that is, the dread of snakes — I mean a rational dread,: 
for I know many persons who have a perfect horror of 
all snakes, and scarcely make a difference between a 
poisonous snake and a harmless one. Snakes are not 
common in Chih, and though I have killed many 
dozens, it was most likely owing to my having walked 
over more ground, in pursuit of game, than most 
persons in that country. No accident occasioned by 
the bite of a serpent has ever been heard of by 
me, and although, whenever I kill a snake, I always 
examine the teeth, I never met one in Chili with 
moveable fangs. These snakes are, like the harmless 
ones, very common on the higher part of the Eock of 
Gibraltar, and also those that are found in the south 
of Spain, and in Barbary. ' 

The country people, living in small ranchos in the 
north of Chili, constantly aver that snakes are in the 
habit of drawing the milk off from mothers in the 
night time, when they are asleep ; and women them- 
selves have often repeated the story to me. The 



THE GUANACO. 85 

herdsmen also say that they suck the cows when they 
are lying down. Anecdotes of this nature, when 
believed by those who relate them, as these evidently 
are, must have some foundation, however slight. 

The guanaco, or huanaco, holds undoubtedly the 
first rank among the game of Chili, and the further 
north the traveller goes, the more guanacos he will 
see. They inhabit the Andes, and sometimes the 
highest hills between the Cordillera and the coast; 
they seek the spots most inaccessible to man, and as 
they can subsist on food that would starve a donkey, 
they prefer the barren, rocky, and stony tops of moun^ 
tains, where they are comjDaratively secure, to the 
more fertile but dangerous plains below ; but often, 
during the tempests and snow-storms that rage so 
furiously on the tremendous mountains of the Andes, 
they descend to the lower hills that are connected 
with the western range, and sometimes down to the 
yery plains. 

It is very difficult to approach them within fair rifle 
distance ; the sportsman may see two or three on a 
mountain, and commence stalking them up some side 
of the ascent that can conceal him from view ; but 
when, after a long and desperate clamber, he arrives 
tired and panting at the spot he had calculated would 
be within shot, he looks in vain for his game, and 
perhaps, in a short time, sees the same animals watch- 
ing him from some distant rock, much higher than 
the one he had gained with such toil and trouble. 
. I have always found that with this game, as well as 



86 THE GUANACO. 

with wild deer and other animals in different parts of 
the world, I have had far more shots, quite unex- 
pectedly, either in travelling, or at all events unsought 
for, than when I have gone out on purpose to hunt 
any particular animal. The traveller has far more 
chance of killing a guanaco with little or no trouble 
than the sj)ortsman wh'o toils for days and weeks 
without, perhaps, seeing a head of the game of which 
he is in pursuit ; — and the rougher the weather, the 
more chance the traveller has of meeting a herd. 

Cuvier classes guanacos mth the camel tribe ; they 
are handsome, graceful creatures, and grow to a large 
size. Unlike the lamas of Peru, the hair is rather 
short and fine. They are easily tamed, but are not 
used, as in Peru, as beasts of burthen. Though so 
easily tamed, they have a very unpleasant habit of 
collecting a quantity of chewed grass in their throats, 
and spitting it out with considerable force on any 
one who offends them, or upon strangers who approach 
them. Thev can likewise use their forefeet and teeth 
with pretty good effect, when wounded, or when 
attacked by dogs. 

An acquaintance of mine had a brace of dogs look- 
ing something like large lurchers, that could run down 
a guanaco in a few minutes, oii his own native hills. 

The flesh is coarsely grained, and not to be com- 
pared with venison, but still it has a game flavour, 
and the haunch, properly kept and well roasted, has 
much merit; but it seldom falls to the lot of any 
one to taste it under such favourable circumstances, 



PAETRIDGES. 87 

for the guanaco being generally killed during a journey, 
is soon hacked up into small pieces, and grilled over 
wood ashes. 

Whilst on the subject of game and sporting in 
Chili, we will devote a few pages to the partridge. 

The merits of partridges are by most persons con- 
sidered in two lights — viz., their merit on the table 
when cooked, and the merit a sportsman allows them 
as game. In the first respect, the Chilian partridge 
is about the worst in the world, and in the latter 
about the best. 

In very few countries do we meet the same sort 
of partridges. In England, Belgium, Holland, and 
the north of France and Germany, the common 
brown partridge possesses, in an eminent degree, the 
two attributes of being good for the spit, and also for 
the dog and gun. A little further south, the red- 
legged partridge is met with ; as every sportsman 
knows, this is a handsomer bird than his brown 
relation, but what he gains in appearance he loses in 
value ; he is dry and worthless when roasted, and 
will spoil the best dogs by the distance and pace he 
runs at before rising. Further south, again, the 
Spanish and Portuguese partridge is also a red-leg, 
but much superior in size and plumage to the hand- 
some French bird ; his habits are the same, and his 
value in the kitchen about equal. Still further south, 
again, and on the African side of the Mediterranean, 
in Fez, Barbary and Morocco, a larger sort of red- 
legged partridge is met with, as superior to the 



88 PARTRIDGES. 

Spanish bird both in size and pkimage, as the latter 
is to the French, and also far better for the table, but 
yet very bad for dogs ; but they have a peculiarity 
which I have never seen in a European partridge — 
they will, when hunted, sometimes take refuge during 
the heat of the afternoon, in fig trees, orange trees, 
or any ones affording good shelter. I have often, on 
the north coast of Africa, marked a covey of birds 
into a clump of trees, and have seen the dogs sniffing 
about under the branches in a strange way, and no 
wonder, for the partridges were sitting up in the 
trees. I have never seen any other partridges do the 
same thing, though I believe it is common enough in 
the United States. 

I cannot speak from experience of any other African 
partridges, much more to the southward, but have 
been informed that they get larger and better to eat 
the nearer they are to the line, but that they are all 
red-legged. After the sportsman has filled his bag 
with red-legs, he ought to consider how they are to 
be cooked, and he will find a recipe at the end of this 
chapter which he may make use of, unless he knows 
a better one. 

In the wild woods of Central America the j)artridge 
is as good, or even better, than the English brown 
bird for the table, but worthless for the sportsman, as 
the only way of bagging a few is to peer to the right 
and left of your path through the forest, and shoot 
them on the ground. The sportsman may say it is 
deliberate murder, and so it may be, but if he has 



FOREIGN PARTRIDGES. 89 

any scruples, he has the easy alternative of going 
without partridges. 

In the Equador, and also in Columbia, the partridge 
is excellent eating, but bad for sporting ; in Peru and 
Bolivia, it is not so good for the spit, but rather better 
for the sportsroan. 

In the Pampas, between the Andes and the Atlantic, 
there are two sorts of partridges ; one small, and more 
like a very large quail; and the other very large, 
almost as big again as an English bird, with a graceful 
feathering crest on the head. 

Both sorts are excellent eating, and the Gauchos 
often ride a covey of the large ones down; for after 
flushing them two or three times, they refuse to rise 
again, and are caught with small horsehair nooses 
or lasitos fixed at the end of a long stick. 

The partridge of the lower part of the Andes is like 
that of ChiU, to be described, and the partridge of 
the upper snow-clad ridges is of a pure white, not 
feathered down the legs, and of a very delicate rose- 
colour underneath the wings. 

This dissertation on partridges, which perhaps is 
only interesting to the sportsman who has shot in 
many foreign lands, brings us at last to the Chilian 
one. Of all the different species of partridge, the 
Chili bird is the worst and dryest, and also the most 
difficult to make eatable, though art will sometimes 
triumph over those difficulties; but the bird is the 
very best in the world for the sportsman, especially 
when abundant. The goodness of Chilian partridge- 



90 CHILIAN PARTRIDGES. 

shooting consists in this — viz., that however plentifal 
they may be, they never rise in coveys, but generally 
only one or two at a time. In a good country, which 
is usually covered with thick bushes, but not higher 
than the hips, your dog points, draws a little, and a 
single bird rises, is fired at, and very likely the report 
flushes another, who gets the second barrel. After 
loading, and going on to pick up the birds, perhaps 
one or two more are flushed in the same way, and it 
is almost indispensable for your dog to be a good 
retriever. 

I was so lucky as to have a very stanch English 
pointer, who was equally good at partridges, snipe, 
or ducks ; was an excellent retriever, and also a faith- 
ful guard alongside of my bed at night. When 
shooting, I always had a lad on horseback leading 
my own horse about fifty yards in the rear ; he was a 
capital hand at marking where a bird fell, and every 
now and then the contents of the game-bag were 
transferred to the spare saddle-bags. 

In some parts of the country, where water is scarce, 
a partridge is rarely to be seen ; but in spots w^here 
water is abundant, and consequently vegetation 
luxuriant, these birds are found in great quantities. 
Such places are those which a traveller seeks out for 
his resting-place for the night, and I have often, after 
a long journey, which ought to be finished before 
four o'clock, taken- my gun and called my dog (who 
had trotted alongside of me all day, besides amateur 
hunting), and in the course of two hours,' before sun- 



PAETPJDGE SHOOTING. 91 

set, bagged six or seven brace of birds, besides, per- 
haps, three or four ducks; — a great help they often 
prove in wild places where nothing can be bought. 

iVs nobody ever saw a Chilian shoot flying, the 
only enemies the partridge has to contend with are 
hawks, foxes, and a very few Englishmen ; and, as 
stated above, the goodness of the shooting arises 
from the birds springing singly, or, at the most, in 
pairs. 

Two guns on the same beat, but working about one 
hundred yards apart, will, generally speaking, produce 
the best sj)ort and heaviest bag; but one gun, if the 
bearer does not spare his legs, will very often kill 
more than half the two others would. 

Althouofh these birds are verv drv when roasted, 
yet they may be made into an exceedingly good dish, 
as taught to me by a Frenchman whom I once met on 
a long journey, and with whom I travelled about four 
hundred miles, though his liired horses kept mine 
sadly behind their usual time. 

One evening, having arrived at the end of the day's 
journey, and as our larder was in the last stage of 
consumption, I took my gun, and went to get some 
food for ourselves and servants, for though my French 
friend had been firing at a great many objects during 
the day, the only thing he had killed was a snake, in 
a cactus bush, swallowing the young birds in a nest. 
I soon brought back a few partridges, a brace of 
ducks, and two bandurrias (a very large and beautiful 
sj^ecies of inland curlew). The fire was ready, and 



92 HOW TO COOK PARTRIDGES. 

the ducks and curlews put down to be roasted ; but 
my French acquaintance — who united, in his own 
person, to the quahties of traditional- historian of the 
glories of the great Empire, and of stanch republican, 
a most curious knowledge of the British constitu- 
tion, and various other accomplishments, the still 
more useful one of the theory and practice of the 
' cuisine,' with original ideas,-^said to me, that, 
although the Chilian partridge was dry when roasted, 
he had long meditated on the subject; that he had 
tried his plan on red-legs in the south of France, and 
that as we had birds, and that everything that he 
wanted was at hand, he w^as resolved to make the 
experiment. I can only say the dish was capital ; I 
have since tried it with red-legs, and succeeded 
equally well, and I give the recipe for the benefit of 
those who have red-legs to shoot at, and can scarcely 
eat them when bagged ; for it is not everybody who 
can stand ' perdrix aux choux,' — at least, when not 
very well prepared. 

Take three or four partridges, the sooner after they 
are shot the better, clean them, and divide each bird 
into two parts, lengthways ; dry them well with a 
towel, and lay them in an earthen pot, with a large 
spoonful of lard. Take a few of the mild onions, 
known in England as Portugal onions, and slice them 
over the birds until well covered up. Season with 
pepper and salt, add a few capsicums or chilis ; just 
cover the whole with water, and place the earthen 
pot over some wood-embers, and only give heat 



HAWKING. 93 

enough to simmer, and not boil. In half an hour 
add, according to taste, a few tomatos divided in two, 
but this may be omitted if not liked. When the 
stew is nearly done, add a small glass of white wine, 
and give a little quicker heat, and I believe most 
persons would pronounce the dish worthy of notice 
in the ^Almanac des Gourmands,' — certainly better 
than 'perdrix aux choux/ But the real way to serve 
it at table is, as * j)epper-pot' is served up in the West 
Indies, and that is, in the same pot that it is cooked 
in, but neatly wrapped up in a white napkin. 

Before leaving the subject of partridges, a few words 
on hawking may be interesting to lovers of sport in 
general. Our ancestors gloried in this pastime, but 
it is now scarcely known, except by name, in England. 
Only a very few practise it in Chili, and one of those 
few was a friend of mine, with whom I have enjoyed 
many real good days' sporting. He lived about one 
hundred and forty miles from Valparaiso, and about 
forty from Santiago. He caught his own young hawks, 
tamed them, and trained them himself, flew them, and 
reclaimed them. 

Many a day's sport I have been able to afford 
some of my friends belonging to British men-of-war, 
and many of them must remember the kind old gen- 
tleman, Don Pedrito, who was always ready to do the 
honours of his house and hawks. 

Mounted on a large white horse, well-known in the 
country, with hawk on wrist, surrounded by his little 
dogs, and followed by the party on horseback, he 



94 HAWKING. 

looked as if he had been taken out of a Wouvermann. 
The little dogs were called by him, 'couis/ which I 
believe is chahacano, or a provincial term for guinea- 
pigs. On arriving at the first likely ground for 
partridges, these very small dogs begin to hunt, 
keeping within forty yards of their master, and give 
tongue on scent. A partridge is soon flashed ; the 
hawk's jesses cast off the wrist, and away the noble 
bird goes after his prey, followed by the whole party 
at full gallop. A very good pace must be kept up to 
have any view of the chase and kill. At first, the 
partridge gains, for he gets his speed quicker ; but in 
a short time the hawk gets his steam up, and his 
great superiority becomes evident, like the greyhound 
over the hare ; but, unlike the greyhound, the hawk 
never turns the quarry, but strikes it down dead with 
one blow. The only chance the partridge has is in 
gaining some thick hedge or cover, before the hawk 
can overtake him ; if he does, which is not very often, 
the hawk is sometimes badly hurt by the violence 
with which he dashes against the hedge, if close to 
the game ; but in general, when the party rides up, 
the partridge is dead on the ground, and the hawk 
seated proudly on some little branch close by, or if 
there are not any, stands on the ground a few yards 
from his prey. The master of the hawk then takes 
the partridge, and dividing the head with a knife, 
lures the hawk by throwing the bird towards him; 
upon which the hawk goes and takes a nibble at the 



SNIPES. 95 

brains, and the owner, walking gently up to him, lays 
quietly hold of the jesses (which are strung v/ith small 
bells), and then replaces him on his wrist. 

In this manner we have often had as many as fifteen 
or twenty flights with a single hawk in a day's sport, 
and some days without missing a bird. Eheu ! poor 
Don Pedrito ; he was always ready and happy to be 
of use to his friends, and was continually requesting 
me to bring down British officers to see him ; but, 
poor fellow^ he has done with hawk and hound, and 
died a miserable death, regretted by all who knew 
him, both rich and poor. 

I have travelled a great deal in different parts of 
the world, and have shot game wherever I have been, 
but I have never been in any country (save one — 
Central America,) that did not produce snipe; of 
course, I mean the parts of a country that are adapted 
for the bird, for on dry, stony land no person would 
expect to find it. But in Central America there are 
numerous bogs and marshes, difficult, and some 
dangerous, to walk over, but though I have hunted 
over them with a perseverance that I believe is 
rather peculiar to the British character, I never 
sprung a snipe, either jack or full snipe, in the course 
of two years, and whenever I have described the bird 
to the Indians, they all declared there was no such 
bird in the country. In most parts of Chili, the snipe 
is unknown, but in some few spots the s]3ortsman is 
amply repaid for his really hard work. The first 



96 SNIPES AND WOODCOCKS. 

snipe I shot in Chili were on the borders of a small 
lake that suddenly made its apjDearance, about ten 
miles from the caj^ital, in one night, after a smart 
earthquake. No river or stream runs into it, and no 
water esca]3es excej)t by evaporation, and it seems to 
have been caused by the earthquake having made a 
fissure in the earth, and ojoened a large spring of vrater. 
This lake, when it first made its aj^pearance, was a 
great object of curiosity to the inhabitants of Santiago, 
and parties were continually being made to see the 
new lake ; but the novelty shortly wore off and the 
piece of water was soon covered with wild fowl of 
many diff'erent sorts, and the shores lined with 
curlew. The edges of the lake soon got marshy and 
reedy, and a small snipe also soon made its appear- 
ance. There were no full snipe, but only jack-snipe, 
rather curiously feathered. They must have come 
from a lake in the Andes, that has been described 
as literally swarming with swans, geese, the large 
flamingoes, ducks, curlews, and all sorts of waterfowl 
and w^aders. 

Near Coquimbo I heard of a marsh of great extent, 
situated nearly parallel to the sea- shore. I deter- 
mined to try it, and found a great quantity of fall 
snij)e, though the country peoj^le could hardly under- 
stand why a man would go for hours up to his knees 
in mud and water for such a small bird. 

I have never seen a woodcock in any j^art of Chili, 
or indeed in any part of America I have visited. 
Some peojDle say that they are found, far to the south. 



WILD FOWL. 97 

but I doubt the fact, on the kno\Yn migratory habits 
of the bird. 

In Chili, wild ducks are very plentiful ; wherever 
water is in abundance, and even in very dry spots, 
large teams of ducks are often found on the scanty 
ponds met with here and there. I have rarely killed 
the large Muscovy duck, but very often a great sort 
of sheldrake; I have rarely killed the teal, but many 
hundreds of the small, red-headed dun-bird have 
gone into my bag ; I have seldom killed the ' puy- 
quen,' a peculiar species of wild goose, from a lake 
situated very high in the Andes, though I have often 
shot the common wild goose ; and I have only once 
killed a magnificent species of swan, who is indeed a 
' rara avis in terris/ although not a black one. 
This bird differs only in one respect from the finest 
specimens of our own domesticated breed, and that 
difference is a black head, with about six inches of 
the throat jet black, rising above a snow-white body. 

The only place where I have ever seen these fine 
birds is on a beautiful lake about eighty miles to the 
south of Santiago, and about ten miles from the hot 
springs of Angostura. This lake was really crowded 
with wild fowl of every sort, and the swans were in 
great quantities.* I have been informed that all the 



* One of this sort of swan I have seen lately in the British 
Museum, but it gives no idea of the bii'd in its true beauty. 
Let the reader fancy the finest swan he can see in England, 
but with a black head and partly black neck — all the other 
plumage being pure white. 



98 LAKE IN THE CENTRE OF THE ANDES. 

swans^ piiyquens, geese, and other wild fowl that are 
seen in Chili, come from a large lake high up in the 
centre of the Andes. Some of the- very few wild 
country people who have seen it, say that during the 
hatching season this lake is quite aliye with all sorts 
of birds; it is rarely disturbed, and the wild fowl 
breed in perfect security, as they have no enemies to 
fear. 

I was truly sorry not to have made a point of 
seeing this lake, far uj) in the Andes, but I never 
could make up a party ; and my servants, who would 
willingly have gone with me had three or four well- 
armed friends been with me, evinced such a dis- 
like to go alone, that I never had my wish gratified. 
They were afraid of the Pampa Indians, who often 
make excursions as far even as the Tollo (before 
mentioned), — the major-domo of that place having a 
mark of their hand-writing on his face, in the shape 
of a ' machetaso,' or sword-cut, which nearly joins 
his mouth to one of his ears. 

In enumerating the different game birds of Chili, 
the curlew tribe ought not to be overlooked. There 
are several species, but the handsomest in the 
country, and perhaps in any other, is the bandurria. 
In describing the size of any bird or beast, it is not 
a bad plan to select an object of comparison with 
which everybody is acquainted. The bandurria is a 
curlew of about the same size as a pheasant, but with 
a much longer neck ; the body is grey, marked with 
darker colours; but its peculiar characteristic is the 



THE BANDUERIAS. 99 

breast and neck^ which is of a fine orange hue^ the 
bill being long and curved, like that of all curlews, and 
seven or eight inches in length. When the sports- 
man gets near a flock of these birds, or sees them 
within shot over his head, he ought to pick out those 
to shoot at which have the lightest coloured necks, for 
they are the youngest birds, and best to eat ; but if 
he wants them for a collection, he ought naturally to 
select the older ones, in full plumage, and they are 
known by the deep rich orange colour of their 
necks. 

The bandurrias generally keep in flocks, and fre- 
quent the large wild and barren plains, of which 
there are so many in Chili; and it seems strange 
that a bird whose bill seems adapted for marshes or 
the sea-shore, should prefer such sterile spots as 
they usually haunt. They seem to be very clean 
feeders, and when well roasted are very fair eating. 

Another species of curlew frequents the sand- 
banks tufted with coarse grass, near the sea-shores, 
but are often found near the banks of rivers. The 
bird is of a variegated grey colour, and when shot 
inland is more delicate than the bandurria. 

There is only one sort of parrot in Chili, and that 
is the common-sized green parrot. These birds 
mostly live and build their nests in holes that they 
excavate in the deep ' barrancas,' or perpendicular 
banks, that the rapid torrents from the Andes have 
cut out for themselves in the course of ages ; these 
banks being often from fifty to two hundred feet 

f2 



J 00 KINGFISHEES AND PELICANS. 

perfectly perpendicular. Young parrots are far better 
eating than young pigeons. 

There are many varieties of water-rails in Chili, 
some of them so vividly coloured, that if they were 
exactly copied and painted, most persons would say 
the painter had exaggerated. 

Many very beautiful specimens of the kingfisher 
would reward the ornithologist's labours; and though 
some of them are three times as large as our own 
beautiful English bird, yet they have the same habits, 
and have very brilliant plumage. Like the parrot, 
they build their nests in the steep banks of rivers, 
and are generally seen sitting on some branch that 
overhangs a stream, watching for their prey. 

Towards the north of Chili, and in those bays 
where the water is pretty smooth, pelicans abound, 
but they generally seek sheltered water. In the bay 
of Coquimbo, there are often a great many. We read 
in Scripture of the ^ pelican in the wilderness ;' but 
does that wilderness mean a sort of desert or the sea- 
shore, or is another bird alluded to, whose name has 
been badly translated ? They are generally seen 
within two or three hundred yards of the shore, and 
I never met with more than one further than twenty 
yards from the sea-shore, and he was near a creek. 

I pass over many birds that cannot interest the 
sportsman, and only mention two species that have a 
sort of interest froni their peculiarities. 

The first one is called the ' tapar camino,' or ' to 
shut up your road,' from a habit it has, near night- 



THE PLOVER. 101 

fall, of alighting in front of the walker, on the path ; 
the pedestrian goes on, and the bird waits until he is 
very close, and then flies a few yards on a-head, and 
waits again until the person is near. This, the bird 
will repeat perhaps a dozen times, and at last he 
seems tired, and rising up, settles on the path be- 
hind. 

The other bird is a variety of the ' spur- winged 
plover/ and I should not mention it, were it not for 
a strange superstition that holds among the country 
peons and guassos. The plover is about the same 
size as our lap-wing, but on the pinion joint it has 
a sharp spur about half an inch in length, of a red 
colour, and very sharp; and the peon has an idea 
that if he can procure a live bird and scratch the 
woman he is attached to, so as to bring blood, 
that same woman is inevitably destined to share his 
affection, and become his better-half. 

A gentleman whom I was acquainted with told 
me one day, that when out shooting he was much 
annoyed with the cries of the said plover.* At last, 
he fired a barrel at it, and brought it down, but only 
wingede A countryman came up and begged for the 
bird, offering a sheep in exchange. My acquaintance 
gave him the bird, and received the sheep, meaning 
of course to pay for it, but wished to know what the 



* I believe Dr. Jolmsoii defines plover as * a noisy bird.' 
Anybody that has been trout-fishing in Ireland, about the 
month of May, can bear testimony to the truth of his defi- 
nition. 



102 THE plover's scratch. 

bird was wanted for. The peon was jealous; he 
went to the house of his beloved — gave her a good 
scratch on the arm with the spur of the live bird, and 
the fair one succumbed to her fate, and was soon 
married to the man who gave a sheep for a plover. 

I have often heard rather curious stories relative 
to the effect of a plover's scratch; but when there 
exists a predisposition to believe them, it is not 
difficult to predict the consequences. 



103 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE CONDOE — ITS SIZE — MODE OF KILLING— AN UNPLEASANT 
POSITION — AN eagle's NEST — THE CHINCHILLA — THE 
NEST OF THE OSTEICH. 

THE finest bird in Chili, whether carnivorous or 
granivorous, is without doubt the condor,* and 
I have often wondered why the Chihans do not call 
the huge bird by his nobler name — instead of calling 
him ' buytre/ or merely vulture — thus classing him 
with all the other disgusting varieties of that filthy 
feathered biped. But the Chilians call him ^buytre' 
pa7^ excellence, for no other vulture is called by that 
name; they have all a local appellation, and the condor 
is almost as beastly in habits as any of them; but I 
have never yet seen a true condor preying upon cast- 
up fish, and other worse things that are found upon 
the sea-shore. This bird ought to have been chosen 
as the emblem of their country. Dr. Eranklin said, 
that, in the first instance, he considered that the mag- 
nificent turkey of North America (as the finest speci- 
men of the feathered production of the United States) 
should have been selected as their national emblem, 
but, on reflection, he thought it would expose them to 



* May we except tlie beautiful swan before mentioned ? — 
' the peaceful monarch of the lake !' 



104 THE CONDOR. 

ridicule, and so they left the beautiful and useful 
turkey for the eagle, just as greedy as the vulture, but 
far more rapacious. Though the eagle cannot, and 
dare not attack such large objects as the condor does, 
yet he destroys life in the proportion of many to one. 

The Cordillera eagles seldom gather in great num- 
bers, although, two or thf ee times, I have seen about 
forty or fifty together, high in the air, making large 
circles, the wings being seemingly motionless. At 
any great height, the diflference between an eagle and 
a vulture may be easily known, for the wings of the 
eagle appear like two equilateral triangles, and I have 
never remarked the same appearance of wing in any 
other bird, high in flight. 

From all I have observed I think the condors, 
when watching for food, soar higher than the eagle ; 
and I know that whenever one vulture is seen to fly 
straight, any person watching will see many other 
condors following the one who is evidently bound for 
some dead animal. The eagle does not do -this, unless 
now and then the sea-eagles descry something very 
good, as waifs and strays on the coast. 

Just as a bee laden with honey flies straight to the 
hive, so does the condor, or any vulture, fly straight 
to the feast he has espied, and never otherwise^ for 
even when returning home at night-fall, he flies in 
large circles. 

When any condor j^/^^ straight ^ others soaring in 
the clouds immediately follow, as they know that the 
leader has viewed some poor horse, cow, or other 
animal dying on the ground, or else bogged in some 



SIZE OF THE CONDOR. 105 

' pantana ' or marsh ; when they fall upon the animal, 
and very soon literally pull him to pieces. I have 
never seen an eagle mixed with them. The condor 
is many times more powerful than any eagle, and 
drives away the largest dogs that may be engaged on 
a carcase with the greatest ease. These birds, it is 
well known, watch dogs or beasts of prey, who may 
have discovered a carcase, and they then wing their 
way towards them, and soon discover where it is 
lying. 

Having lately written on the controversy that has 
been carried on for a long time, as to whether sight 
or smell is the cause of the gathering of the vultures, 
I will not recapitulate the evidence in favour of sight,* 
although I could bring forward many other anecdotes 
and incidents in support of the piercing sight alone 
being that cause, added to the instinct that teaches 
them to watch the gathering of dogs and carnivorous 
beasts ; and also the straight flight of their own 
species. 

A great deal has been said and written concerning 
the extraordinary size of the condor when full grown. 
The Peruvians say that the largest are seen in the 
Andes of their country ; and the Chilians affirm that 
no jlying bird can be larger than their full-grown 
*buytre.' As far as I can judge, they are both of 
about the same size. I have shot a great many, vary- 
ing in bulk, but the largest one I ever killed measured 



* Wild Life in the Interior of Central America. 
F 8 



106 MODE OF KILLING THE CONDOR. 

exactly fifteen feet from tip to tip of the wings when 
stretched out fairly, and not pulled out too hard.* He 
was a very powerful heavy bird, with legs almost as 
thick as my wrist, and the middle claw or finger, 
(which I kept, for I cat ofi" one foot) was seven inches 
in length. Some little time afterwards, I shot a large 
albatross, which had been driven inland by a heavy 
gale of wind, and compared him with a fair sized 
condor, killed the same day. The albatross measured 
a foot wider from tip to tip of wing, but did not weigh 
much more than one -third. 

Condors are sometimes killed in great numbers, 
and indeed, when they ar^ killed, are generally victims 
to their own voracity. In spots where they do much 
mischief, an opportunity is waited for, and thatoj)por- 
tunity is usually the death of any horse, mule, or 
cow, that dies upon the estate where condors have 
been committing havoc. The dead animal is dragged 
to some small, but high corral, and, after being 
skinned, the carcase is left as a bait for these large 
vultures. They soon arrive. One bird is seen flying 
straight^ and, in a very short time, a number are also 
seen from up or down wdnd, shaping their courses in 
the direction of the first discoverer. After a few 
circling flights over the corral, they descend, and in 
an incredibly short time devour everything devour- 
able on the beast, actually separating legs from the 
body ; but these condors, when they descended to 



* When pulled out he was much wider. 



MODE OF SHOOTING THE CONDOR. 107 

their repast, could not have reflected how they were 
to leave it, for even if left alone they would find it a 
difficult matter to get out of a small corral. They 
are like albatrosses and Falkland geese on the deck of 
a vessel, and want a run, or an elevation, to get on 
the wing so as to clear the fence. When well gorged 
with food, it is still more difficult to rise, and several 
men, armed with long poles, entering suddenly into 
the corral, soon knock a good many down, but it is 
no joke getting within reach of beak or claw. 

Another way of killing these birds is sometimes 
attempted, but only by some party of Englishmen. 
Upon going on a condor excursion into a moun- 
tainous country, leave may sometimes be obtained 
from some cattle-owner to shoot any animal (generally 
a good-sized calf) that may be met with in a suitable 
spot : a good place is selected, and a mountain calf 
shot down ; the best parts are selected for the use of 
the party, and the remainder left in some contiguous 
and conspicuous spot. Watching carefully the sky, a 
speck somewhere or other may soon be seen; the 
speck soon enlarges, and it is not long before the 
form of the bird can be distinguished. All the 
condors who have seen the leader fly straight to his 
prey, follow his course — when over the carcase a few 
circling flights, lower and lower, give further intima- 
tion to the more distant birds of the repast which 
awaits them, and also hint to them that if they do 
not make haste, there is no chance of anything being 
kept for them ; when the condors alight, or before, 



108 AN UNPLEASANT POSITION. 

according to circumstances, the guns and rifles of the 
party are soon at work, and should one or two be 
knocked over, the others sympathize , so much with 
the sufferers as sometimes to sweep closer to the 
sportsmen's heads than is comfortable ; for I am 
certain a full-grown condor could split a man s skull 
with a single blow from his powerful beak, if the man 
allowed him the opportunity. In this way many of 
these birds may be killed, and those who may be 
making a collection of skins for stuffing would do 
well to try this plan, for if fifteen or twenty condors 
be killed, the finest could be selected, and out of 
twenty, one would be, almost surely, a fine specimen. 
During a journey, I was once in a position with 
regard to these condors that I would rather have been 
out of. After a weary climb up a steep mountain, 
trying to kill a good specimen out of some condors 
which were reposing on a castle-looking rock, after a 
plentiful meal upon a poor horse, who had sunk 
exhausted in the pass below, I found myself on the 
said rock, standing alone with two fine specimens 
dead at my feet ; but the numerous survivors of my 
two shots seemed disposed to be vindictive, and I had 
only taken up the hill with me, by mistake, a couple 
of the swan-shot cartridges that killed the first pair. 
Standing alone on the rock, my servants in the pass 
below got alarmed, and seeing my powder-horn and 
shot-bag on the side of the road, they knew I must be 
without ammunition, and they hastened up to me, and 
I must say I was glad of it, for the birds were flying 



THE KING OF THE VULTURES. 109 

SO close to my head that I was obliged to fire off the 
two barrels I had left ; one of them being fired so 
close to a condor that the shot made a hole like a ball 
through him, and I was actually obliged to make use 
of stones, of which there were plenty, before my 
s-ervants brought up my ammimition. A few quick 
shots soon disjDersed them all. 

The first bird killed so close to me was the one 

mentioned as being the largest I have ever killed 

myself: he was fifteen feet, and though some persons 

pretend that this bird is much larger in some countries 

and parts of the Andes, I doubt it ; for the next 

largest I ever shot was thirteen feet, and a great 

number only twelve. I am inclined to believe that 

no fair specimen of condor has ever been seen in 

England, dead or stuffed. I am sure that those I 

have seen myself in England, cannot convey to the 

mind any true idea of this bird. In his wild state he 

is tremendously strong. In seizing an animal who 

has sunk under exhaustion, or an animal in strong 

vigour, but who has been bogged and is helpless in a 

marsh, he has always one j^oint of attack, and that is 

under the tail; tearing long strips of skin away from 

the belly, the dirty vulture soon gets actually into the 

carcase, and seems to bury himself there. The 

condor is the head of his tribe, but I should like to 

see him in presence of the 'King of the Vultures.' I 

have often seen His Majesty surrounded by his 

courtiers, too well bred to think of dining before his 

majesty had concluded his meal ; but I must confess 



110 THE NEST OF THE CONDOR. 

that I do not believe that a large, powerful bird like 
the condor would pay deference to the King of the 
Vultures, only one-third of his weight and size. How- 
ever, the Peruvians say that they c?6> pay that homage, 
and as they told me the same story of all vultures having 
great respect for their king — which I have seen myself, 
since, many times, and the fact can be testified by 
British consuls— I do not see why the condors should 
not be as great fools as the others ; but one thing ought 
to be added, the King of the Vultures is not a revolt- 
ingly beastly bird ; he takes a good dinner, and then 
goes to a branch of a tree to clean himself, but he 
never remains near one spot, and that wherever filth is 
found, as other vultures do, unless we may presume 
that he returns to the inaccessible haunts in which he 
breeds. 

I have never found the nest of a condor, and never 
heard from any of the peons or guassos that they had 
seen one themselves ; although I have heard plenty 
of stories about the birds and their nests, some as 
curious as the tale of the ' Eagle and Child,' so well 
known in the Derby Chronicles ; but the result of my 
own researches and inquiries has been, that no person 
I have ever spoken to on the subject had ever seen a 
nest himself, although many said they knew persons 
who had seen one of them. Second-hand, or hearsay, 
evidence is of little value ; but I hear from common 
report that they build their nests in the inaccessible 
fissures that are so often seen in perpendicular cliffs. 
About fifty miles from Coquimbo, a man on horseback 



AN eagle's nest. Ill 

tumbled over, in the dark, a frightful precipice, and 
both man and horse were killed. I remember well, the 
man being missed and search being made for hira, 
in which I helped, with my servants ; he was, at length, 
discovered in the gully below the jDass, untouched, 
and close to the remaining bones of his horse. The 
condors had done quick work with the beast, but they 
durst not touch the man : his eyes were still open, and 
the greedy vulture^^ere afraid of the open eye. Now 
it seems strange, but it is very true, that when an 
eagle has secured liis prey, the first thing that he 
strikes at is the eye. 

Although I have never found the nest of a condor, 
I have frequently that of the beautiful Cordillera eagle. 
Travelling, one day, at the foot of the Cordillera, I 
was about half a mile in advance of my mules, and, 
turning round a rock, suddenly came in view of a 
pair of eagles, not the distance of the length of a 
common room from me. They did not see me, for, 
from the first glimpse of a flutter of feathers, I had 
jumped off my horse, and hidden him, as well as my- 
self, behind the said rock. I watched them for some 
minutes : the food they were giving to the young 
ones seemed to be of the curlew species, but the nest 
was built in the converging branches of a thorny 
cactus, issuing out of a perpendicular rock, and not 
above twenty feet from the path, but from the ajDpear- 
ance of the trail, no person had passed that way for 
several years. 

I watched them for some minutes, within ten yards, 



J 13 THE CHINCHILLA. 

which again confirms the argument of ^ sight versus 
smell/ for I was smoking a cigar, and my horse was 
smoking in a lather. I had a double-barrel in my 
hands, but walked up to the nest, and they went away, 
but relunctantly. No sj^ortsman would have fired on 
them, after so watching them, and they escaped, 
which they would not have done, if they had been 
filthy vultures. I tried to climb up to the nest, but 
although it seemed easy at first, Fcould not succeed, 
and the day was too far advanced to allow of other 
means being adopted. I should have been glad to 
secure the contents of the nest. 

There is a very pretty little animal in Chili that 
deserves a short notice, the skin of which is well known 
to ladies, as trimmings for winter dresses. I have 
never seen this beautiful chinchilla in any of the 
southern provinces of Chili, but in the north, and 
especially in the province of Coquimbo, a great num- 
ber may be found and killed. 

There is no use in describing the skin, as it is so 
well known, but the habits of the animal have very 
seldom been noticed : he is found in the most sterile 
and dry wastes, and how he can exist so far from any 
water seems a marvel ; but he burrows at the' foot of 
a large shrub with a succulent root, which, perhaps, 
supphes him with the requisite moisture ; also as he is 
only abroad at night-time, the heavy dews may, per- 
haps, supply him with suflBcient liquid. The great 
quantity of birds of prey would also deter him from 
making his appearance daring the day-time. 



CATCHING CHINCHILLAS. 113 

A young lad, the son of one of my servants, was 
very clever in catching them. The way is to go, on a 
fine moonhght night, to the spots where they abound, 
and besiege their citadels, one after the other. A few 
boys with sticks, and a few cur dogs, are quite enough 
to secure a good number of skins. Fire is set to the 
root of the shrub, which soon burns enough to make 
a great smoke, and the chinchillas are obliged to 
make a sally, when they are knocked down, or killed 
by the dogs. I am sure the father of my boy used to 
make a good thing by selling the skins his son pro- 
cured for him. It is not so easy to catch them alive, 
for the boys must place their hands at the holes to 
lay hold of them when they holt, and they bite as 
sharp as rats ; but my lad often brought me live chin- 
chillas, and more graceful little animals can scarcely 
be seen.* They are about the size of a small rat, 
with a rather long, feathery tail, like a setter's. I 
once tamed one in a few hours : he was young, and 
literally omnivorous, for he would follow me round 
the table on which he was placed, and eat, indiffer- 
ently, bread, sugar, figs, or meat. However, an 
English pointer I had came into my room, just as I 
was priding myself on having tamed my pretty little 
chinchilla, and, making a snap at him, put an end to 
his education. 

Before ending my account of the animal produc- 



* Small bag-nets, sometkiiig like tkose used when fer- 
reting rabbits, would soon procure a good number. 



114 THE OSTRICH. 

tions of Chili, I ought to add, that I never knew of a 
fish being caught in any river north of Valparaiso. 
I can add, as regards my own knowledge, in the 
south also. The snow-water from the Andes would 
destroy them if they existed. In the few lakes, fish 
are abundant, but those lakes are not subject to the 
same cause. In most of the rivers a very large and 
also delicate kind of cray-fish, called ^ camarones,* is 
met with, but generally within a few miles from the 
mouths of the rivers. Being a close observer of 
nature myself, I cannot refrain from giving a slight 
zoological story ; and although the ostrich is not a 
denizen of the country I have been describing, yet, 
as the bird lives so near to it — only the other side of 
the Andes — a short notice of one peculiarity will, I 
am convinced, be acceptable to naturalists. Every- 
body has read of the ostrich laying her eggs on the 
desert, and leaving them to be hatched by the heat 
of the sun. 

It is very true that a single ostrich's egg is often 
found on a barren spot, and the inference is drawn 
that the ostrich had left the egg to take care of itself. 
There is nothing more unjust towards the female 
ostrich than to accuse her of abandoning her eggs — 
the truth is, that she is a careful and provident mo- 
ther, which I am going to •pi'ove. 

The traveller who has seen an egg of the ostrich, 
in the desert, naturally says it is left to providence ; 
bat if he had reflected a little, he would have felt 
how utterly impossible it would be for a bird break- 



THE NEST OF THE OSTRICH. 115 

ing the shell to provide for itself. He would have 
searched further, and he would have found what any 
man can do who chooses to look carefully right and 
left, instead of right a-head. 

The story of the ostrich's nest is curious, and, 
although unconnected with ChiU, I feel sure that it 
will be acceptable to some of my readers. 

The ostrich makes a large nest on the gi'ound, and, 
by drawing down the grass gradually, makes it im- 
perceptible a short distance off. She lays three or 
four eggs ; but one of them she carries out a good 
way from the nest and leaves it by itself, Now, it is 
that solitary abandoned egg, often found, that has 
given rise to the story of the ostrich abandoning her 
eggs to providence. The truth is, that she sits upon 
her eggs all night, and the male bird does the same 
a great part of the day ; and the question is, what is 
the use of the egg so separated from the rest ? The 
use of that egg is a beautiful instance of a bird's 
foresight. A few days before the young ones are 
hatched, the ostrich goes and splits the cast-out egg; 
the blue-bottle fly immediately bloivs it, and, by the 
time the young ostriches break their shell it is full of 
maggots ; and, on the birth of the birds, the mother 
leads them to the egg for their first repast. 

Every one, on reflection, must feel that a new- 
born ostrich could not be independent — the first 
hawk or vulture that passed over would soon put an 
end to him. 

Having concluded the foregoing observations on 



116 THE CHILIANS. 

the animal productions of Chili, I trust I may be 
pardoned for making a few on the Chilian race — of 
man and woman — and I trust that no Chilian can or 
will take offence at remarks so favourable, in general, 
to their country, and also to themselves. 



117 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

THE INHABITANTS OF CHILI — THE LADIES — THEIE EDUCA- 
TION — MATEIMONIAL CUSTOMS — THE LAW OE SUCCESSION 
— COSTUME — STYLE OE LIVINO — A WHOLESOME BEYEEAGE 
— THE DIET OE MINEES. 

CHILI contains about two millions of inhabitants, 
scattered thinly, except in some few populous 
parts of the country, and that over a teiTitory of more 
than a thousand miles in length and of various 
breadths. In these inhabitants, white blood pre- 
dominates, even in the lowest classes, but it is that 
sort of white blood that has flowed in the veins of the 
Andalusian and Moor. 

Physically speaking, they are far superior to any 
other nation I have seen on the west coast of America. 
The dry weather, together with the bracing night- 
winds from the Andes, harden the frame and consti- 
tution of those who live much in the open air, in a 
degree not to be seen north of the great desert of 
Atacama. But this scarcely applies to many of the 
upper classes and dwellers in large towns, who sel- 
dom mount on horseback, although living in such a 
decidedly equestrian country. Those of the ujoper 
class who live on their haciendas are often strong and 
active, and use the lasso as well as a peon ; but many 
of those who confine themselves to towns, and copy 
French manners, are more effeminate, and require a 
cloak after sunset. 



118 FEMALE EDUCATION. 

The ladies are often very pretty, but are seldom 
educated except in a very slight and superficial way. 
A little knowledge of the guitar, less of the piano 
and dancing, is the general extent of their acquire- 
ments ; of course there are exceptions ; but as for 
drawing, painting, foreign languages, and other com- 
mon rudiments of an English girFs education, they 
are seldom thought of — at least, during four years' 
knocking about in the country I have rarely met such 
accomplishments. I believe the young ladies to be 
brought up strictly, and to be generally very well 
behaved hefore marriage. There are a great many 
married ladies who have some little story attached to 
their names — I trust not all true; but generally 
speaking, in a very short time after marriage, the 
husband is scarcely ever seen in company with his 
wife, nor does he attend her evening ' tertuUias.' 

There is one custom that would strike an English 
young lady as being strange, if not worse. When a 
marriage is decided on, the husband is expected to 
make his intended such an immense number of 
valuable presents, to give her such a handsome 
trousseau, and, in short, to fit her out so completely, 
as materially to cripple his own resources for some 
time. I remember being at breakfast one morning, 
with a gentleman who was soon to enter into the 
blessed state of matrimony, when a servant came in 
with a letter that completely destroyed his appetite — 
at least, for breakfast. 

He had already made his intended many valuable 



AN EXPENSIVE TROUSSEAU. 119 

presents; but the said letter was from the lady's 
mother, requesting no less a sum of money than five 
thousand dollars (about one thousand pounds) to pay 
for articles she had bought for her daughter. 

I thought the demand would have taken away his 
appetite for matrimony also, but, after raving a little 
at her extravagance, he was obliged to pay the money. 

An English, French, or United States girl, would 
be rather ashamed of being adorned and actually 
dressed before marriage by her future husband; but 
the practice obtains from high to low, rich and poor, 
and if a man does choose to fall in love, full payment 
according to his means is sure to be exacted in some 
form or other. 

When a gentleman marries a lady, they are both 
obliged to declare the amount of each of their fortunes, 
and the laws of dowry and succession seem curious to 
an Englishman. 

The two sums are united, and whatever increase 
arises in their joint fortune (but not by inheritance) 
belongs in equal parts to each. So that if both 
husband and wife brought equal sums, say 30,000 
dollars each, and the united 60,000 dollars were in- 
creased by trade, speculation, or by parsimony to 
100,000 ; on the death of one of them, 50,000 dollars 
would go immediately to the children of the defunct, 
or to the heirs ; the said defunct being only able to 
bequeath two-fifths of whatever property she or he 
may die possessed of : the said property to be paid 
down, without waiting for the death of the survivor. 



120 CHILIAN LAWS. 

There is a sort of justice in the law of succession, 
as it prevents a cruel parent from totally disinheriting 
a worthy son, which is too often the case in our own 
country; but in some respects the law of dowry opens 
a wide door to monstrous frauds. 

A man and wife living together may speculate upon 
joint account, and althaugh the law enjoins that all 
gains shall belong to hotli, in equal parts, yet in case 
oi failure, or bankruptcy, the creditor cannot touch 
the wife's share, and can only seize on the husband's 
property. 

Suppose that, on marriage, the united property 
amounted to 100,000 dollars, the husband may trade 
and speculate with the whole sum, and, if he has 
luck, may perhaps double the amount; in which 
case the wife would be entitled to half, or 100,000, 
for her own share; but supj^ose the picture reversed, 
and debts amount to 100,000 dollars, the creditors in 
that case can only touch the 60,000 of his own, and 
his wife's must he paid first; so that any dishonest 
speculator may, as is said, ' play upon velvet,' for 
he can always retire, and fall back on his wife's 
resources. 

To an honest man, who confines his speculations 
and his liabilities to his own share of the joint in- 
come, this law may be a very good one, and no doubt 
is so, since it saves many a poor woman and family 
from total ruin and misery; although it is pretty 
evident that it throws out a great and certain tempta- 
tion to any man who has a quiet laxity of conscience 



THE LAW OF SUCCESSION. 121 

to say to himself, ' Why should I not make use of 
all this money? I can, perhaps, make a large fortune, 
but, in case of the very worst, I cannot be ruined — I 
shall always have enough to live on with comfort!' 

In the law of succession to property, let us suppose 
that the testator has several children. He or she has 
the. power to leave two-fifths of the property to the 
favourite; the other three-fifths being divided equally 
among the remainder. No legitimate child can be 
disinherited, except in two cases (as a lawyer in- 
formed me) : the first one is, the case of a son or 
daughter being condemned by a court of law to any 
punishment called infamous: the second is that of a 
grown-up son striking a parent; but no other con- 
duct can empower a parent to disinherit a child. 

Generally speaking, however, there is seldom any 
occasion for a parent to act in any other way than 
dividing his property equally between all his children. 
It is well known that mothers are more likely to 
have a favourite than fathers; but certainly, in Chili, 
children are brought up with a respect and veneration 
for their parents, fathers especially, that rather con- 
trasts to our own 'rising generation.' 

I have often, in the country, seen a young man of 
good family, handing fire to his father for lighting 
his cigar, and he has almost always pulled off" his hat 
and remained uncovered until his 'governor' had 
completed the operation. 

Whenever a gentleman asks for fire from one be 
neath him in rank, the person who gives it takes off* 

G 



122 CHILIAN DRESS. 

his hat, and remains bare-headed until the ^brasero/ 
or fire, is returned with thanks. Among equals, each 
touch their hats; but it is considered a mortal affront 
to refuse a light if you are smoking, or, if you have a 
light, to the lowest person. I suppose the feeling 
comes from an excommunicated person being denied 
fire and water from every one. 

The ladies of Chili dress well; much after the 
French mode, and only a few months behind the 
fashion. Gentlemen dress very much as Frenchmen 
do in such a city as Bordeaux or Marseilles; but this 
dress is only confined to towns, for in the country 
everybody dresses in true guasso style, and a town 
lady would not be very well pleased on seeing any 
gentleman ride into her ' patio,' or court-yard, dressed 
in a poncho, straw hat, over-all boots, and enormous 
spurs. 

The guasso dress for a person in easy circum- 
stances is as follows :^ — A straw hat with narrow brim, 
tied under the chin with black silk tassels; a bliie, 
round jacket, more or less embroidered, with a 
23oncho thrown over it, the colour and texture of 
which depends upon the taste and purse of the 
wearer. A pair of tightish trousers, with a red silk 
sash round the waist, a pair of over-all boots, draw- 
ing up above the knee, and of divers colours; some- 
times do able- strapped with black Cordova leather, 
and confined below the knee by handsome black and 
silver gaiters ; the costume being completed by an 
enormous pair of silver spurs, with steel rowels. 



CONFORMITY TO COSTUME. 125 

I have given (as a specimen of the figure such a 
person cuts on horseback) a drawing of the costume 
I always wore myself, together with a favourite lasso- 
ing horse, saddle, accoutrements, lasso, &c. It will 
give the reader a better idea of how persons dress and 
are mounted than any description.* 

In almost everv countrv I have visited I have made 
a rule to adopt the costume, saddlery, bits, bridles, 
and trappings of the said country ; together with the 
mode of travelling, and, as nearly as possible, any 
peculiarity in their riding. By such means, a traveller 
passes unnoticed, but otherwise, perhaps, the simple 
fact of having an iron stirrup instead of a wooden 
one, proclaims the stranger. The only exception as 
to saddlery was in the interior of Central America, 
which was so utterly barbarous, that I was obliged to 
return to my Chilian ' apparecos/ In that country, 
they actually make their lassos fast to their horses' 
tails ! I could not make up my mind to that 
primitive mode. 

The common hour for visiting is in the evening, 
from about eight o'clock to ten or eleven. The lady 
receives in handsome, well-furnished rooms, and her 
tertullia is generally attended, at least for some time, 
by nearly the same set of men, who go and come ; 



* I have tried to draw the peculiarities of the Chiliaii 
horse, — viz., a good carcase and legs, a fine head, but a thin 
ewe neck. The mouth and bitting are far beyond any praise 
that can be bestowed on them by European horsemen. 



126 TEETULLIAS. 

a few ladies, intimate in the family, are also there, 
and if the lady has any preference for any caballero, 
it is part of his duty to be there all the evening. 

It is very seldom that the husband is seen at the 
wife's evening ' tertuUia ;' he is generally attending 
some other one : rarely however is a quarrel heard of 
between man and wife oh that subject. 

At these tertullias the conversation is light and 
gay — there is no restraint; refreshments are seldom 
offered, except on particular occasions, and every one 
goes when he pleases. If there should happen to be 
any musical ladies present, they perhaps sing or play, 
and there is a real charm in their frankness and good- 
nature. When once well introduced into their houses, 
they try all in their power (and are sure to succeed) 
to make the stranger feel at his ease and at home. 

If this is true in the city, it is still more so at the 
haciendas in the country, where, sometimes, on a 
journey, and arriving late, I have been w'elcomed by 
some old acquaintances ; blamed for not letting them 
know I was coming; and, though tired and wishing 
to go to sleej), have often been kept up till past mid- 
night, in order to give time to the cook to serve up a 
capital supper — the host frequently begging me to 
excuse the late hour, bat that he had sent a man on 
horseback, perhaps fifteen miles, for white bread, or 
something else they were short of. 

The general mode of living is very simple in Chili, 
especially in the country. There would be no use 
describing the mode of life of persons of fortune in 



LIVING OF THE POOHER CLASSES. 127 

towns^ nor indeed would it, in the country, of the 
middle and lower orders, were there not something 
to be said— something, upon their articles of food, 
that has long struck me might be of use to our own 
poor. 

In the country, when man or woman rises in the 
morning, both rich and poor take a cup of mate, also 
called yerba, or paraguay tea, with a burnt lump of 
sugar; and they suck it up through a 'bomba,' or 
tube, with small holes at one end, made of silver or 
tin. A few of the class that have been educated in 
France take a cup of chocolate or coffee instead, — 
but as these remarks are meant for the poorer class, 
or rather those who have influence over that class, I 
will continue the description of the food consumed by 
the lowest and the easier classes nearest above them. 

I shall have to say a word about the food ordered 
by law for the miners, but as that is furnished by the 
owners, it can only corroborate the following observa- 
tions. 

The Chilian workman, or peon, does not con- 
sider his breakfast a principal meal, for, as he dines 
between twelve and one, he makes his dinner the 
principal one. 

The very poor peon breakfasts generally off the 
remains of his supper and dinner. A peon who is a 
little better off, perhaps, has bread with a few dried 
figs. One better off, again, has perhaps an ^^^ or 
two to add to his meal ; but they seldom touch their 
favourite dish, unless they have kept some from the 



128 MODE OF LIVING OF 

last day's dinner to be heated up. The peons could 
not have their dish cooked in time, for it takes some 
hours ; but they reserve themselves for dinner-time, 
when, from the President of the Eepublic to the 
lowest beggar, every one, even if he does not eat it, 
has a dish of porotos at his table, or stone at the 
corner of a lane or street.- 

But hundreds of thousands dine upon this dish 
every day, without touching any other, and some 
almost live on it, except during the time when fruits^ 
especially water melons, are ripe. 

The poroto is a species of haricot beans, but the 
bean is of a dark brown, or reddish colour, and is as 
nourishing as can well be conceived, at the same 
time being very cheap, and, what is so important for 
a poor man, it ^perfectly satisfies him. He feels full 
and comfortable, feels strength to work, and when 
once he likes it, would never abandon it for other 
food, unless for a short change. 

It has often astonished me when I have seen aii 
English labourer, in his cottage, eating his "mid-day 
meal, which consisted of a piece of bread and cheese, 
washed down by a cup of weak tea — or rather, a 
poor decoction of sloe-leaves and birch-ends- — when 
I knew that, with a little management, he could get 
a hot, plentiful, and most healthy meal, for one 
quarter the price that the tea and sugar alone had 
cost him. As it is, he goes back to his labour, 
j^erhaps in frost or snow, not only half empty, but 
feeling his dinner has done him little good'; whereas 



THE POOREE CLASSES. 129 

the price that his miserable fare has cost him would 
procure, not only a good dinner, but a good hot 
supper, for himself and whole family; and they 
would go to bed full and comfortable, and rise in the 
morning fit to do their work, however hard. 

With respect to the healthiness of the diet, it 
is proverbial that no nation can go through hard 
and long sustained work better than the Chilians, 
although in physical power they certainly are not on 
a par, or near it, with the Anglo-Saxon race ; but the 
power and strength of the Chilian miners are well 
known ; and yet they have nothing for dinner, from 
one end of the year to the other, but these stewed 
beans. 

The English peasant has a strong aversion to new, 
and above all, to cheap food ; many of them would 
rather be content to go on with scanty bread and 
cheese, although they preferred the other. ' Try it 
yourself,' is growled out, ^ and see how you will like 
it !' That answer has been made to many useful 
hints. But the response I make is, 'I have tried 
it; I have sometimes lived for weeks and months 
with scarcely any other food but these haricot beans. 
And moreover, I do not think that any bread-and- 
cheese-eating (washed down with tea) man could 
have done a week's work with me, and still less a 
month's.' 

The fact is, that in the cottage, any innovation of 
cheap food touches that worst of all inexcusable feel- 
ings, false pride. 

G 3 • 



130 EECIPE FOR 

No English peasant, or labourer, would touch 
roasted corn for his breakfast, as a substitute for 
coffee or trashy weak tea. No ; let the ground- 
corn coffee be beautifully made — strong, nutritious, 
and really good to drink, it is cast away as trash ; 
and if any persons who truly could judge between that 
healthy beverage, and tlie mawkish compound that 
is called coffee or tea, — not only in a good farm- 
house, but in any labourer s cottage, — were to pro- 
nounce such an opinion, they would not only not he 
believed, but be laughed to scorn. 

'Try it yourself,' is again the answer from the 
peasant, who insists upon paying five shillings a 
pound for tea. 

' So I have,' is my response. I have tried it for 
many weeks together, and found it excellent, — as 
superior to wretched weak coffee and soapsuds tea, 
as the fresh air of a mountain is to that of a city 
rookery.^ 

Let me give a recijDC for the poor, that they may 
enjoy a wholesome beverage that I have often and 
often enjoyed myself, when I could not procure good 
coffee. It would be hard if the woman of the cot- 
tage and her children, during harvest-time, could not 
glean some ears of corn, and 1 can tell them, that if 



* If any one of my readers happens to be a very great 
coffee-judge and amateur, I will recommend him to procure 
some of the small leaned Peruvian coffee from ' Younghai.' 
It has nearly the same taste as the smallest Mocha, but is 
much finer in flavour than any coffee I know. 



A WHOLESOME BEVERAGE. 131 

they were industrious, the gleaning would serve them 
night and morning for a wholesome, invigorating 
beverage, instead of a worthless, trashy drink, such 
as hedge- tea, for the whole year. 

Bruise the grain, but not enough to divide it into 
little bits; put all the grain into a frying-pan, or 
even, for a poor man, on any bit of iron or tin (don't 
use lead) that can be procured, and fry the corn well, 
until it comes to a rich brown colour; take away from 
the fire, and let the grain dry until it gets crisp. 
Immediately, it does get crisp, crush it on a com- 
mon stone with another one; place the powder in a 
pot, and treat it as coffee, only using six times the 
quantity I give this for those poor persons who 
have not even a little coffee-mill, and who usually 
buy their trash, called coffee, ready ground, mostly 
made of beans and oats. Boil the pot up twice, and 
then add milk and sugar ; but if the poor cottager 
has a coffee-pot large enough, let him make cafe-au- 
lait, the third time of heating. I have no hesitation 
in saying, from personal experience, that this common 
beverage ought to satisfy anybody, and much more 
those peasants who can swallow such stuff as they now 
do. When one reflects that a few children, at harvest- 
time, could glean enough to serve a family the whole 
year, it is lamentable to see so much money spent on 
an infusion made from the trimmings of our hedges, 
and called tea. 

These remarks on a substitute for coffee, are not so 
important as the following on the great staple of life 



132 HARICOT BEANS. 

in Chili — yiz.^ on the poroto, a species of haricot 
bean. 

The plant that bears the poroto bean is hardy and 
prolific, and, I belieye, would grow wherever sown 
and attended to. 

It is not likely that these lines will be read by any 
labourer, but they may, possibly, by some one who 
has, at the same time, the wish and the influence to 
ameliorate the condition of the poor in their own 
cottages. 

In Chili, they calculate a large double-handful of 
the dry bean as a good allowance for a man, but the 
beans swelling very much, makes the allowauce a 
large plateful. I will give the recipe for cooking 
them, in the hopes it will meet the eye of some bene- 
volent person who has the power and wish of seeing 
it tried among his poorer dependents. 

Put the beans in an iron pot, cover with water, and 
boil for half an hour. Throw out the water, draining 
it off with care, for the water is unwholesome ; but 
leave the beans in the pot. Cover again with fresh 
water, and boil until the beans are nearly done, when 
drain the water off a second time. For the third time 
of heating up, keep the beans in the pot, but add no 
water ; instead, add a little (this is for English cot- 
tages) dripping, kitchen-stuff, salt butter, or lard, 
according to the means. Season with salt, and, if it can 
be afforded, pepper, and heat the mess up for a quarter 
of an hour, stirring gently, now and then. I have 
often, after a long day's work, sat down to a jplateful 



THE DIET OF MIXERS. 133 

of the above humble dishTvith a relish I have scarcely 
felt at the Cafe de Paris, or the Trois Freres. and 
can add, that I vras more fit for vrork after the first 
than the last. I vill answer for it that an Enghsh 
labourer would go back to his vrork vith his inside in 
a more perfect state of content than on a scanty meal 
of bread and cheese, and, moreover, do his work easier. 
Besides, the remainder may be heated up again for 
supper ; and no labourer can eat a food more invi- 
gorating, and, at the same time, more satisfying. 
He will go to sleep full and contented, and rise in 
the morning fit for work. As to the usual growl of 
' Try it yourself,' I never recommend anything unless 
I have tried it; and I can truly aver, that I was never 
more fit for real hard work than when I lived for 
many weeks upon these porotos. 

The diet of the miners is regulated by law, and as 
these men are notorious for their personal strength, 
and require more nourishment than most men, I will 
give an account of the provisions that are served out 
to each during the day. 

For breakfast each miner is allowed one loaf of 
good wheaten bread about the size and shaj^e of 
a common brick, which is the only bread he gets 
during the day : the bread is rather brown, for the 
miners prefer having the finest part of the bran left 
in the bread; they say it is more wholesome, and 
gives them more strength * 



* Our English labourers will eat nothing but white bread. 



134 THE DIET OF MINERS. 

In addition, each man is allowed forty dried shrivelled 
up figs ; but on two days in each week, they get each, 
instead of figs, half a pound of char(|ue, or jerked 
beef; and that is the only animal food the miners are 
allowed in the whole year.* 

For dinner, they have nothing absolutely but the 
above-mentioned beans, ' porotos.' All the rations 
are delivered over to the mine's cook, who dresses 
them according to the above recipe ; and for the last 
heating up, the cook is allowed to mix with the beans, 
one ounce of clarified beef fat and one large Chilian 
capsicum for each ration. Each miner gets a very 
large plateful that he carries to his own little rancho 
close by. 

For supper, each miner is allowed a large handful 
of ' frangollo,' to moke punch; but frangoUo punch 
is rather a different article to that used in England, to 
wash down Turtle. Frangollo is nothing more than 
bruised wheat, which the miners mix with water, 
adding a little salt or sugar. 

This frugal supper ends the day's work and feeding ; 
for the miners go to sleep soon after sunset, that they 
may rise long before dayhght. 

I do not think a Cornish miner would be content 
with this fare, but a Cornish miner earns good wages 
and buys what he likes. The Chilian miner also 
earns good wages, and has all his food found and 



* Twenty-six pounds of meat allowed in the year ; but 
they have what they choose during the vacations. 



GOOD FOOD FOE LABOUREES. 185 

cooked for him ; but the work the latter does is a 
proof that the food is wholesome. 

I wish truly that some gentleman who is in a 
situation, and has both the means and wish of trying 
to introduce the poroto as an article of food among 
our labourers, would make the experiment. He might 
improve the situation of the very man that wants his 
situation improved — the agricultural labourer. 

I can only repeat that after the first few days, I got 
accustomed to the beans; after a few more days, 
I missed them, when they were not present at a better 
dinner ; but I also ever looked on them in common 
with many men who have done hard work, as the most 
nourishing, the cheapest, and the most grateful food 
that can be procured for hard-working labourers. 

How often, subsequently, when at night in a wild 
forest, have I not sighed for a large dish of hot 
porotos, to prevent the wind whistling right through 
my emptiness. 



136 



CHAPTEE IX. 

DESCENT OF THE CHILIAI^S — ALBINOS — SOUTH CHILIAN 
EOBBERS — SALTEADORES — SEEENOS — EXECUTIONS. 

TN an ethnological point of view, the generality of 
-L the upper and middle classes are of Spanish 
origin. Few of the ujoper class have any mixture of 
dark or even Indian blood ; and although they are 
darker in general than even the ladies of the south 
of France, yet still most of the upper classes can 
claim pure European blood. This is not the case, 
and not cared for, further north ; but in Chili it is cared 
for in alhances. 

Although some of the women are very fresh 
coloured, and have fair skins, the great majority of 
the higher orders are of that olive complexion which, 
when joined to pleasing features, has so many 
admirers. Their hair is generally black, glossy, and 
very long ; but, even in the highest-bred women, 
certainly coarser than that of Saxon or Gaulish 
women. 

Among the lower classes, and especially among 
the miners, who all have more or less Indian blood 
in their veins, the hair is found more straight and 
thicker in each individual hair. 

But Chili is a country where neither great varieties 
of the human race abound, nor the infinite number of 



THE charcoal-burner's CHILD. 187 

crosses and mixtures that are seen farther to the 
north. The country where the greatest variety 
abounds is in Central America, and there the ethno- 
logical student might pursue his vocation without 
going to at least two other quarters of the globe. 

Some peculiarities of the pure and mixed races, 
will be met with in a future page ; and I can now 
only mention one instance of a peculiarity that has 
often attracted the attention of both the learned and 
unlearned. 

A charcoal-burner and his wife were attached to a 
mine belonging to myself: they were a very good 
pair, and genuine blacks. There could be no dis- 
pute about their colour, shaped legs, or woolly hair. 
A long time they had served the mine with charcoal, 
and often had they made vows and petitions for 
children that had been denied them. 

At last, the sable lady gave notice to all around that 
she would, in a few weeks, introduce into this world 
a little charcoal-burner. Accordingly, the comeres 
of the neighbourhood met at her house at the 
appointed time, and behold ! the production was not 
like that of the mountain, the ' ridiculas mus,' 
but was a snow-white child, white from the hirth, as I 
have been told by women who were then employed on 
our property ; so white, tliat no child had ever been 
seen so white. 

The father was dreadfully puzzled, and swore 
terribly at his wife. The wife wisely sent for her 
confessor, and the confessor wisely sent for an English 
doctor at his own expense. On his arrival, the 



188 AN ALBINO. 

medical gentleman, who had been some time before 
employed by Government on the north coast of 
Africa, pronounced the production, ai once, to be an 
' Albino.' 

' Dios de mi alma T exclaimed the father ; ' what is 
that?'— 'Only a milk-white child, with red eyes, that 
can t see in the day,' replied the doctor. And so the 
boy grew up — an object of interest to the wild neigh- 
bourhood, and was appointed to drive a donkey, laden 
with water or charcoal, three times a-day up a rocky 
mountain. It was when he was at that work, being 
then about twelve years of age, that I first saw him : 
tha boy could not see his way in the daytime, and 
usually held on to the donkey's tail ; but at night- 
time he could see as well as any cat; and when I 
have had to return very late in a pitch-dark night, 
I have often been indebted to him for piloting me and 
my horse over the rough rocks. I once saw that 
boy walk into a pond in the middle of the day, and 
another time into a heap of hot ashes, that burnt him 
severely : he could not see his way. The boy was 
ugly, very much freckled, and stunted in form and 
feature. 

Very dijfferent was a little Albino girl I met in Cen- 
tral America. I saw her sitting at the corner of a 
lane, with a piece of linen in her hand that she was 
hemming. I never saw anything more lovely or deli- 
cate than that young girl : her hair was of a golden 
yellow ; her skin as fair and as white as can naturally 
be : but the colour of her cheeks was like the faintest 



AN ALBINA. 139 

rose-blush. The eye-brows and eye-lashes were also 
a very hght yellow. She was trying to thread a 
needle, but could not, on account of her imperfect 
vision. I got off my horse, and asked her to let me 
help her, for I saw at once she was an Albina. She 
gave me the needle and thread, and I returned it to 
her threaded ; but, on asking her some trivial ques- 
tion, found she was a perfect idiot. She was crying 
with vexation, on account of not being able to thread 
her needle ; but when it was done for her, cast her 
eyes on her work, and seemed intent only upon that. 
I do not mean to say that this ^Albina' was perfect 
in outward appearance ; but her complexion was 
more softly coloured than I have ever yet seen a 
woman in my life. But as we have not yet arrived in 
Central America, let us keep to Chili. 

In the north of Chili, Copiapo, Huasco, and Co- 
quimbo, the inhabitants are mild, kind, generous, 
and, generally speaking, an honest race of men, high 
and low ; but I am sorry to say that in the south 
they are quite different. They may be (I mean the 
lower orders), equally generous as the dwellers in 
the north ; but they have such a total disregard for 
human life, that I was always obliged to take care 
of my own life, by going so well armed, although 
generally alone, that I could depend upon my re- 
sources. A few years' wanderings in a wild country 
does give a man confidence in himself. 

A stranger may travel through most of the north 
of Chili unarmed, and, perhaps, the only danger he 



140 SOUTH CHILIAN ROBBERS. 

might incur would be from a stray highwayman from 
the south. 

I am mentioning these facts solely to show the 
difference there is between the South and North 
Ohihans as regards morality; and these facts will 
show that the ioheibitants of the north are real good 
men, and that all the robbers come from the south. 

Mm^ders of the most atrocious description are 
heard of every day in the south of Chili, but scarcely 
heeded. In the north of Chili, about Coquimbo, it 
is different. Many of the murders conimitted in the 
north of Chili, and upon the high roads, are done by 
stray robbers from the south. Often and often I have 
been told the same thing — viz., to beware of the 
robbers on the highway near the capital. 

I never neglected that advice, but always went so 
well armed, that I doubted very much getting the 
worst of an attack, and have not found my precau- 
tions fail, although j)retti/ well tried; but I will give 
an account of an occurrence that happened on a 
spot which I passed, scarcely a quarter of an hour 
from the time I told my men to mount their horses, 
to commence their journey; adding, at the same 
time, that the people in the neighbourhood begged 
me to believe that they were not guilty of knowing 
even such murderers. 

Very early, on the third morning after leaving Co- 
quimbo for Santiago, when passing across a small 
' quebrada' or gully, well wooded and sheltered, with 
a small stream of water rij^pling along its bottom, 



PUNISHMENT OF THEFT. 141 

we observed a large pool of blood, and, on further 
search, found two men, evidently sailors, with both 
their skulls literally smashed in. They had also 
clearly been rifled of everything, with the except 
tion of enough clothes to enable us to distinguish 
their profession. My fellow-traveller and myself, 
leaving our servants and baggage behind, set off fast, 
at the ' trote y galope' pace, and in an hour found 
ourselves at the hacienda of a gentleman of large 
fortune and influence. My travelling companion, 
who was well known, and had deservedly many 
friends in most parts of Chili^ related the story, and, 
in a short time, many men on horseback were on the 
track, scouring the country. 

Continuing our journey, we made inquiries at the 
different places we passed, and the result is worth 
relating, if only to give an instance of justice pur- 
suing and dealing swiftly with crime: — in this case, 
however, it was theft avenged; the murders, no 
doubt, went on to a long running account, sooner or 
later to be answered for. 

An American merchant- ship was lying at anchor 
in Valparaiso Bay, and two of the crew took it into 
their heads to run: they meant to go over land to 
Coquimbo, and find a berth on board a coaster, as 
wages were then fifteen dollars per month — carpen- 
ters* wages much higher, and one of the men was the 
ship's carpenter. 

Since the Californian discoveries, wages are said to 
have become almost fabulous in amount. 



142 'A PEECIOUS PAIR.' 

There would have been no very great harm in 
running from a merchantman, especially if badly 
treated, if they had only taken their own projDerty 
with them ; but this did not suit them, and they chose 
a day to effect their purpose when the remainder of 
the crew was ashore. Having rummaged the ship, 
and appropriated every article easily stowed away — 
such as money, watches, and any jewellery they could 
find in the cabin — they went ashore in the dingy. 
Proceeding to an Italian letter-out of horses, and 
paying before hand, they hired two horses, as they 
said, for the purpose of going a few leagues in the 
country, and returning the next morning. 

But fate seemed to pursue them: instead of taking 
the road, near the sea-shore, to Coquimbo, they took 
the Santiago one, and arrived in the capital, meaning 
to go thence by the upper road to Coquimbo. At 
Santiago, the carpenter, who spoke a little Spanish, 
managed to sell the two horses, saddles, and bridles : 
and, with cash added to the previous robberies, this 
j)recious pair started, early one morning, for Coquimbo, 
on foot. 

After walking about twenty miles, they were over- 
taken by two Chilians, also on foot, who seemed to 
be perfectly aware to what place the others were 
bound, for they went into a wine-shop close by, 
together, and the people of the house heard them 
agree to travel on together — adding that the sailors 
pulled out a good deal of money, and wanted to sell 
a watch. 



DEEADFUL RETRIBUTION. 143 

On they journeyed in company, day after day. 
The Chilians had not an opportunity of patting their 
design in execution, as the party slept every night, 
until the fatal one, in some cottage.. Everywhere we 
inquired, we heard that the sailors had paid for every- 
thing ; and at the last place they stopped at, before 
their final one, the woman of the house said that the 
two sailors, accompanied by the two Chihans, had 
arrived at her rancho in the afternoon; that the 
Chilians had persuaded the sailors to go on, though 
the latter wished to stay the night. The murderers 
told them that they knew a very nice resting-place 
some distance on, with good water, sheher, and no 
fleas. The last inducement made the sailors, no doubt, 
consent to go on; and they bought at the house, a 
kid, some bread, and a large skin of chicha, — when 
they all marched off", and she never heard any more 
of them until she learned that the sailors had been 
cruelly murdered in the night. 

It was evident that the sailors had got drunk with 
the chicha, and that during their deep slumber, the 
other two had smashed in their skulls with heavy 
stones, two or three of which were found close by, 
and stained with blood. The remains of the meal 
were visible, and the empty wine-skin. 

Thus was their robbery not only dreadfully retri- 
buted, but they were sent to their account without 
time for even one moment's repentance, and in a 
state of intoxication. 

Though the murderers escaped, yet it is not un- 



144 RALTEADORES. 

likely that they ^ve^e soon brought to justice for 
some other atrocity. 

About Santiago, and further to -the south, the 
worst assassinations are committed ; and in some 
cases, to avoid the victim being identified, the rob- 
bers and murderers will strip the skin off the face of 
the dead man, after divesting him entirely of all 
clothes, for fear of their being recognised. 

I had a very pretty cottage at a village called 
Lampa, about twenty-five miles from the capital ; 
and though I only occasionally visited it, I believe 
many of the British men-of-war's ofl&cers remember 
Lampa and partridge hawking. 

A man was found murdered close to my cottage, 
without a particle of clothes on him, and the skin 
torn off his face. He was discovered at break of day, 
but no person could guess who the murdered man 
could be. 

A butcher, living near the spot, was missing, and 
it began to be suspected that this might be his corpse ; 
but no person, not even his own wife, could positively 
say that it was ; and it was only when the man's poor 
old mother was called to see the body, that she could 
say, from some particular mark, that the mangled 
corpse before her was once her living son. 

The murderers again, in this instance, who were 
without doubt highway robbers, as the butcher was 
known to have a sum of money with him, escaped 
the pursuit made; and although Don Diego Portalis, 
who was murdered himself subsequently, did so much 
to clear the high roads from ' salteadores,' or high- 



A COOL ASSASSIN. 145 

waymen, yet private assassination often goes unpu- 
nished. I will give one proof of it, out of mamj. 

There was a man, ranking as a low sort of ' gent/ 
(not to profane the word ' gentleman/) who was well 
known to have committed eleven murders before he 
was sent to another world ; and it was not unlikely 
he had perpetrated others. The tenth known one 
was so characteristic of his career, and of the small 
regard some of those assassins entertain for human 
life, that it is worth while relating the short story. 

A superior sort of major-domo was standing one 
evening at the door of a country house, when this 
man, with whom he was acquainted, came up to him, 
and entered into conversation with him ; in the course 
of it, he related the particulars of a murder he had 
committed a short time previously. The major- 
domo was shocked, and could not help exclaiming — 
' How horrid ! how could you do such an act to a 
man who had never offended you T — ' Oh,' said the 
assassin, ' I will tell you how I did it : I said to him, 
' Amigo mio, you have annoyed me / and with that 
I took out my cuchillo and passed it into his heart.' 
Suiting the action to the word, he drove his long 
knife into the poor major-domo's body. Every one 
knew he had committed the murder, for the major- 
domo gave the above evidence before he died ; but 
the man was not arrested. He had friends w^ho con- 
cealed him for a short time, and the affair was for- 
gotten. However, his hour had arrived, and the last 
time, he tempted fate. 

H 



146 THE assassin's doom. 

There is a very useful body of men belonging to 
all large towns in Chili, who, like our own police, keep 
the peace, and patrol night and day. In the day-time, 
they are on horseback — or, at least, their horses are 
standing near them, under some shade at the corner 
of a street; but at night they are generally on foot, 
and patrol their particular beats, singing out, every 
now and then, like our old watchmen, the hour and 
the state of the weather, ' Ave Maria purissima ! it is 
eleven o'clock at night, and very serene r The horse 
constables are called ' vigilantes,' and the night ones 
' serenos,' I suppose from the constant use of the last 
word in their song — most nights being serene in that 
country. 

One of the ' serenos ' was going about on his call- M 
ing^ (which, by the Avay, is anything but a useful one, 
as it only warns thieves to get out of the way, like the 
cry of our old ' Charleys,') when this murderer, in pass- ' 
ing, abused the sereno for singing so badly ; picked a 
quarrel with him, and laid him as low as his previous 
victims. But, as the body of constables is not to be 
trifled with, this last time he was soon arrested, tried, 
and condemned to death, and he expiated his crimes 
on earth, and towards man, in a very cruel manner. 

Not that any other pain but being shot to death 
was awarded him ; but it was performed in such a 
bungling manner, that he must have suffered dread- 
fully. 

All criminals are put to death by shooting them, 
but the punishment is very unequal, as, in some 



AN EXECUTION. 147 

cases, a great criminal goes out of the world very 
easily, and in others of comparative innocence, such 
as political offences, the convict may suffer long 
and protracted tortures : however, this man's suffer- 
ings bore a remarkable proportion to his enormities. 

A shooting party consists of only four men, who 
fire at the criminal very close to him, the victim 
being seated on a ' banqueta,' or small bench ; but as 
the fire-arms are generally wretched ' old flints,' and 
are continually missing fire, and also as the men 
seldom know the management of arms, the scene is 
often distressing. Did they give the poor wretch, as 
they do in the English or French armies, a volley of 
twelve or more balls, there would be more certainty, 
though I remember a man at Gibraltar, I think of 
the 94th, who was shot to death ; and although he 
behaved at first as coolly as if on parade, yet after the 
volley, when on the ground, his cries were dreadful, 
until put a stop to ; but in Chili, if one volley does 
not do, he is put back on the bench, and the scene 
repeated, until all is over. In this case, the Chilian 
suffered far worse than any victim of the iron rule of 
that savage old monster. Doctor Francia, of Paraguay, 
who, when he ordered a man to be shot, would only 
allow, from pure economy, one cartridge, the in- 
structions given being to finish the offender with the 
bayonet. 

The day the execution took place, I was passing 
through the great square at Santiago, and saw some 
soldiers drawn up on three sides of a moderate-sized 

H 2 



148 AN EXECUTION I 

infantiT square — the prison forming the fourth. In 
the centre of the square, thus formed, ^as standing a 
jackass, covered all over with coarse black serge, and 
a few monks were standing near the animal. On 
inquiring the meaning of this singular scene, I was 
told that the above mentioned criminal was going to 
be shot to death, and he was expected to make his 
appearance immediately; he was to be shot in a 
street close by, and on the very spot where he had 
committed his last murder. 

I made up my mind to follow the procession, for al- 
though I detest witnessing suffering of any kind, even in 
a wild ferocious beast, I wished to see whether a ruffian 
like the criminal, who held the lives of others so very 
cheap, would hold his own in the same estimation, 
and I cannot say that he did, but quite the contrary. 
The murderer, who delighted in murder, died a 
craven ; but that is no excuse for the bungling of the 
execution. 

As the clock struck twelve, a procession^ consisting 
of friars of two different orders, made its appearance 
from the prison door; after the friars came the 
wretched culprit, followed by the firing party of four 
soldiers only. He was made to mount the donkey, 
as a greater mark of infamy (most criminals being 
conveyed to execution in a covered wagon containing 
also the firing party and confessors,) the procession 
then marched on; but I could not help remarking 
that all the joriests held large umbrellas over their 
heads to guard them from the sun, while the criminal 
had none. 



PROTRACTED SUFFERING. 149 

On arriving at the spot where the last murder had 
been committed, the ' banqueta/ or small bench, was 
placed against a house in the street, much to the 
horror of its inhabitants. The murderer was then 
helped off the donkey, more weak and trembling 
than I ever remember to have seen a man in his 
position. He stood before the bench, for a short 
time, receiving the consolation of the monks, and was 
then told to sit down, which he could only do with 
help. 

No man can tell how he would feel when about to 
be executed ; but I could not help being ashamed, as 
a fellow-creature, at his cowardice — reflecting, at the 
same time, that he had held his own fellow-creatures" 
lives as not worth thinking of. 

The party then drew up within three yards of 
him, and fired their volley : he was rather badly 
hit, and knocked off the banqueta, evidently not even 
mortally wounded, for he spoke clearly, and prayed to 
be forgiven. He was placed on the bench again ; and 
again the monks put the crucifix to his lips, and 
retired. At the second volley, only one of the 
wretched flint carbines went off; then there were 
hammering of flints and priming; in short, eleven 
times was the poor wretch fired at, or rather attempted 
to be fired at, before he was finished, and the scene 
was sickening in the extreme. I wondered they had 
not a loaded carbine reserved, to blow his brains out 
in case the first volley failed. 

The mob remarked that he had been fired at eleven 



150 A MADMAN. 

times for eleven murders ; but I doubt if one-tenth 
part of the balls hit a vital part. Shooting a criminal 
is a very uncertain punishment, as to' suffering; and 
justice would be satisfied just as well with a rope and 
a few seconds' pain. A soldier no doubt would rather 
be shot, for a military offence, than hanged like a dog ; 
but, generally speaking, hanging is more merciful. 

It would be impossible for any person, who has 
dwelt any length of time in Chili, to relate within 
reasonable limits the numerous murders that have 
occurred, within his own knowledge, . and have re- 
mained unpunished. The lower class of natives are 
very like, in one respect, a certain class of the lower 
Irishmen, who think it a duty to hide and protect the 
murderer, however atrocious may be the crime that 
he has committed ; but woe betide any foreigner, 
especially a Frotestant, who commits even an involun- 
tary homicide ! The following anecdote will illustrate 
what is meant better than any argument. A well- 
attested fact is worth a hundred arguments. 

A North American captain of a merchantman had 
anchored his vessel in Valparaiso Bay; he went 
ashore, and was almost immediately taken very ill 
with a violent fever that flew to the brain. He was 
frequently bled ; at last the delirium left him, and 
he was considered as having ^passed the crisis of the 
disease. However, one evening, when no one was 
with him, the delirium returned; he got out of bed, 
dressed himself, and, armed with a longbowie knife, 
rushed out into the street, like a Malay ' running 



AN UNJUST SENTENCE. 151 

a-muck.' He attacked every one he met, indiscrimi- 
nately, killing two persons, and severely wounding a 
third : he was overpowered ; the surgeon bled him 
again, and he fell into a long slumber, awaking from 
it a helj)less idiot. 

As soon as he could be removed, he was conveyed 
to prison ; in a few days, he was tried and condemned 
to death. The American Consul being absent, the 
English one did all in his power to get the sentence 
reversed, and all the English and American merchants 
used their influence for the same purpose. An appeal 
was made to the High Court of Santiago. The cause 
was again tried; plain evidence was given by the 
surgeon who attended the unfortunate man, as also 
by several of his friends, that he was raving mad 
both before and after the event, and that at that very 
moment he was an idiot. 

Can it be believed that the evidence was not 
allowed to be entertained, on the plea, that, not being 
Koman Catholics, the witnesses were not to he lelieved! 
and the execution was ordered to be carried into 
effect ! Both the English and North Americans 
behaved very humanely on the occasion, keeping up 
fast horses on the road to carry a reprieve, and also 
soliciting both humanity and justice; but it was of 
no avail. 

The poor man was taken down to the end of the 
pier at Valparaiso, not at all aware for what pur j)ose. 
I did not witness the execution ; but a friend, who 
did, told me that nothing could be more shocking 



152 EXECUTION or AN IDIOT. 

than to see the poor helpless idiot taken along the 
pier sucking an orange, and, with insane laughter, 
pointing to the feathers in the soldiers' caps. They 
placed him on the banqueta, and although the whole 
population could judge of his state of mind, yet — they 
shot him ! 

The poor man might possibly eventually have 
recovered, but they gave him no chance, and shot 
him down like a mad dog. 

For my own part, I shall always speak well of the 
kindness I have experienced from Chilians in every 
situation in which I have been placed, but certainly 
the lower orders of the south are not to be compared 
to those of the north, as far as regards order, regu- 
larity, and morality ; but with respect to the higher 
orders, they are nearly the same all over Chili. 

In the next short chapter, I shall give a few 
remarks on the clergy of Chili. 



153 



CHAPTEE X. 

THE CLEEGT OF CHILI — THEIE ' NIECES' — THEIE INTOLE- 
EANCE — INDIAN SUPEESTITION. 

n^HE clergy, both lay and regular, form an im- 
-■- portant and weighty portion of the Chilian 
nation, and would do so even by their numbers, 
apart from other considerations; but they have great 
power, not only in the national assembly, but by the 
influence they possess and certainly exercise over the 
minds of the whole people, saving and excepting 
those who have returned home enlightened hy a 
French education. 

There are several different orders of monks and 
nuns, residing in their several convents and monas- 
teries ; convents (contrary to our received ideas on 
the subject) being for men, and the monasteries for 
women. 

With respect to the latter, (for women,) I have 
never heard any scandal or reproach ; the nuns may 
waste their time in idleness, and pass the hfe the 
Almighty has given them, without performing a 
single duty to their fellow creatures — and, in fact, be 
as useless as if they had never been born — but I have 
never heard a whisper against their moral conduct, 
beyond a few jokes respecting the nans and their 

H 3 



154 CHILIAN clergy: 

confessors ; but from everything I have seen and 
heard, the same thing cannot be said in favour of 
the fat lazy friars. 

These numerous communities are fed, clothed, and 
housed, without contributing, in any way, one single 
iota to the welfare of the nation; the only visible 
work they perform, if work it can be called, is form- 
ing, now and then, apart of a procession. Springing, 
as well as the lay clergy, from the lowest orders, they 
are extremely ignorant; although not quite as bad as 
the clergy in Central America. 

As for the ' curas' of parishes, though they are 
doomed as well as the monks to ceHbacy, yet I do 
not know how it is, but one always meets in their 
houses a nice looking young woman, about the best 
in the village, always introduced as ' my niece,' and 
often two or three little children running, quite at 
home, about the house, who, in conversation, are 
casually mentioned, as ' relations, come to visit my 
niece.' At two or three curas' houses, where I called 
several times in each year, somehow or' other, I 
always found the same ' nieces,' and also the same 
children ' on a visit to the niece.' 

I must, however, avow, that I have been treated 
often very kindly by a few of the clergy whom I was 
acquainted with, and sometimes, in travelling, dined 
with them ; one of them several times remarked to 
me, when parting,- after wishing me every success on 
earth, ' What a pity it is that you must inevitably be 
damned.' ' 



THEIR INTOLERANCE. 155 

When the French woman of the world, during the 
reign of Louis Quatorze, found that she had had 
enough of that world, or rather the world of her, she 
usually turned ' devote,' and consoled herself by the 
severity with which she condemned the irregularities 
of her neighbours : it is very nearly the same with 
the curas of parishes, for when age weans them from 
the frivolities of life, they generally become very 
intolerant. 

But the intolerance of the Chilian clergy is not 
worse than in any other of the Spanish founded 
republics : there is a churchyard at Valparaiso where 
an Englishman can be buried without any moles- 
tation ; however, at Santiago, it used to be a service 
of danger to attend a funeral. In no place would the 
clergy allow the body of a Protestant to be interred 
in one of their churchyards ; but in the intolerance of 
burial, they are far exceeded by their brethren of 
Central iimerica. 

A few months before I arrived in the latter country, 
a Protestant Irishman died in Leon, and during the 
time the corpse was laying in the house of a friend, 
who related this to me, the people, instigated by the 
priests, and led on by them, were yelling and hooting, 
day and night, round the house. It was only with 
great difficulty the body was buried at midnight, in a 
waste piece of ground, and the short ceremony was 
accompanied by curses and showers of stones from 
the same intolerant party. 

I can only say, that when I read Mr. Daniel O'Con- 



156 INTOLERANCE. 

nell's speech to an ignorant and excitable people, in 
which he said that he ' pledged his veracity^ that in 
no country of the world was there any intolerance on 
the part of Eoman Catholics towards Protestants, I 
should have wished him to have witnessed the funeral 
of his poor countryman. 

Another instance I will give, solely with the view 
of showing that our respectable English and Irish 
Eoman-catholic countrymen cannot, when they make 
such assertions as they do make, be acquainted with 
the intolerance of their co-religionists in the (once) 
Spanish possessions. 

In the beautiful cajon of Maypo, which is a natural 
guUey worn down by the partial melting of the Cor- 
dillera snows for thousands of years, with perpen- 
dicular ' barancas,' or banks, showing where once the 
river that rushes down, had ran, and how time had 
gradually lowered its channel, in some places more 
than one hundred feet below the original bed of the 
torrent, is one of the three great passes over the 
Andes. This pass is on the left side of the river, as 
you go up stream ; but on the other side, and not far 
from the fearful pass, called the ' Paso de las Animas,' 
resided a pure Indian from some of the rinconas, 
or corners, of the Andes. He had acquired a sort of 
reputation for his skill in making lassos, and every- 
thing connected with the hides of animals. He lived 
nearly five miles from any other human being, and 
the nearest church was in the village before men- 
tioned, two miles on the Santiago side of the hanging 



THE Indian's grave. 157 

bridge. He frequently went down to the village to 
attend mass, but was never allowed to enter the 
church. The reasons given by the cura was, that he 
had old Indian superstitions, and no doubt had pagan 
gods of his own ; besides, it was said that no person 
could understand him w^hen he sjooke. I have fre- 
quently had a long chat with him, and could certainly 
nearly understand everything he said, although, it 
must be owned, his language was a rare ' chabacano,' 
or, as the French say, ' patois.' 

This poor man's wife died, and he w^as desirous 
that she might be allowed to be buried in the ceme- 
tery of the church where he himself had so often 
been refused admittance. His request was sternly 
refused, although he pleaded that both his wife and 
himself were true Christians; and that it was not 
his fault, if she departed life without the ' consolations 
of religion,' as they were too far off, and he could not 
pay the fees. 

The poor Indian dug the grave for his wife close to 
his own hut, in this really desolate spot. He had one 
child, a daughter; they were all very miserably poor, but 
there was a trait in their wild ideas of religion very 
touching. The family met as usual for their meals, 
composed ordinarily of the same mess as the vultures 
feed on, but the meal was divided, as before his wife's 
death, into three portions, and one portion was depo- 
sited on his wife's grave. The foxes, no doubt, de- 
voured the offering; but the creed of the Indian was, 
that the spirits of the departed require nourishment 



J 58 THE Indian's superstition. 

for a whole year, unless the bodies are buried in a 
churchyard. 

Six weeks after his wife's death, th^ daughter also 
died, and this time the Indian pleaded that his 
daughter had been born where she died, and baptized 
in the village church, and she ought to be buried 
there ; but it was of 'no avail, and he dug his 
daughter's grave alongside of her mother's. The 
poor man had now to cook his meal himself, but 
when it was ready, he never forgot, in his hunger, 
the claims of the departed, but placed the two por- 
tions at the head of each grave. May the kind old 
man have his reward hereafter ! 

I often employed him, after I had found him out ; 
his lassos were beautifully platted, but, it must be 
confessed, 7iot to he depended upon, as he could never 
procure fresh bulls' hides, and I, living six hundred 
miles away, could not procure them for him. 

I again repeat, that I trust the above remarks may 
not be thought unkind by my Eoman-catholic coun- 
trymen ; but I only wish to show that when some of 
them assert that there is no intolerance in any part of 
the world, on their part, I wish to prove that they are 
not acquainted with what is done in some countries. 
I was dangerously ill myself in Central America, and 
overheard a consultation respecting the spot I was to 
be buried in ; and I knew that (although I had been 
only a few days "in the country, and could have 
neither friends nor enemies) I should have been 
followed to the grave, or rather pit in the black mud 



INSTANCES OF CLERICAL INTOLERANCE. 159 

of a creek, by a mob, hooting, yelling, and pelting 
stones. 

I might relate many more instances of this intole- 
rance, which could be attested by many British 
Consuls; but the less said on the subject the better. 
and I truly feel glad that this chapter is a very short 
one. 



160 



CHAPTEE XI. 

SYSTEM OF TAXATION — DISHONEST PRACTICES OF ENGLISH 
MANUFACTURERS — IMPORT AND EXPORT DUTIES — EFFECT 
OF THE ALTERATION IN THE NAVIGATION LAWS UPON 

ENGLISH SHIPPING ADVICE TO ENGLISHMEN VISITING 

CHILI. 

MUCH has been written and spoken upon the 
subject of taxation, and the question is often 
argued, as to whether it falls easiest on the people 
in general when that taxation is direct or indirect; 
but every one must confess that a system of securing 
a revenue that will keep up the expenses of the state, 
pay the army and navy, and also provide for the 
interest of the national debt, and all that performed 
quite unfelt by the native poor and middling classes, 
is surely a wise and patriotic system of taxation. . 

I am perfectly aware that many person's will say 
that the Chilians, in taxing both imports and metallic 
exports, are injuring themselves: but the Chilians 
can fairly answer, ' We have tried our system, arid it 
answers; we pay all our liabilities, and a poor man, 
or even one well to do in the world, does not con- 
tribute one farthing, except so indirectly that he does 
not perceive it.' "As for the export duties on metallic 
ores and metals, the Chilians also say, ' We do not 
j^ay — the foreigners pay.' And so it is; for the duty 
on their exports could not influence the market of 



TAXATION. J 61 

the whole world, but would form a large item on the 
credit side of the national balance-sheet. 

Before the time of Don Diego Portalis, the revenues 
of Chili were disposed of pretty nearly in the same 
shameful way that those of Spain have been for the last 
fifteen years and more. Eevolution succeeded revo- 
lution ; one president succeeded another ; the whole 
country was in a state both of excitement and fear. 
Every new party that arrived at piower repudiated 
the obligations of their predecessors, who had shortly 
before been either kicked or shot out of office ; but 
after the presidency of the Generals Pinto and Prieto, 
no peculation in office could have taken place. 

Before that time, many men, who had for the 
moment the command of the national revenue, made, 
like Donna Christina of Spjain and her adherents, 
enormous fortunes from the public purse ; but when 
Portalis came in as minister, all that peculation — - 
which now exists in every other Spanish- originated 
republic — totally ceased. 

To the credit of Chili, it must be said that she 
never even hinted at the scoundrelly system of 
'repudiation! She always said, under her difficulties, 
that she wished to pay, but that she was unable to 
do so : immediately she icas able, she did so. The 
proof of the honesty of the Chilian government, as 
believed by our capitalists, is plainly evinced by the 
fact, that the foreign loan is quoted on the Stock 
Exchange at about par. 

It is fair to say that the Chilians have redeemed 
their promise to pay when they could; and very 



162 THE REVENUE OF CHILI. 

different they are from the Spanish and United States 
debtors. 

With regard to the latter, a gentleman from New 
York, in the course of conversation a short time ago, 
told me that the whole of the Northern States felt 
humiliated by being classed with their repudiating 
countrymen ; that they felt ashamed when, in society, 
they heard of families reduced to the last stage of 
want, by the simple error of having put their faith in 
Anglo-American honesty. He also said that he was 
sure the time would soon come when the nation 
would rise up, and see that their just debts were 
paid. I should be sorry to record more of the gen- 
tleman's honest indignation at the conduct of some 
of his countrymen, but I am sure that there is a 
feeling, and a growing feeling, in the United States, 
that those States who do pay their debts ought not 
to be confounded with those who laugh at them. 

The mode in which the taxation of the country is 
conducted, so as to enable her to meet all her engage- 
ments and liabilities, without the smallest oppression 
or even pressure on the people, is worthy of a little 
attention ; for in Chili no man is ohliged to contribute 
anything to the state, unless he chooses to do so, by 
buying foreign goods, or keeping a shop, or smoking 
government tobacco, — which latter luxury is quite 
supplanted by a better and smuggled article carried 
over the Andes. 

The revenue of Chili is obtained from the following 
sources — viz., duties on the import of foreign goods ; 
duties on the exj^ort of metals and metallic ores ; the 



TAXES. ■ 163 

" estanco/ or monopoly of the sale of tobacco, and the 
duty paid by those who take out a licence to keep a 
shop, or warehouse, for the sale of goods. To the 
above m.ay be added charges for the storage of goods 
in bond. 

During four years' residence in the country, I never 
paid one penny in the shape of taxes, although I 
generally had from twenty to thirty horses for myself 
and personal servants. The only duty I ever paid 
was on the export of ore from a mine. It may be 
saidthat Custom-house dues fall eventually upon the 
native consumer, and so, perhaps, they do ; but they 
are not felt. Take cotton goods, or linen, as instances : 
the duty is paid according to the fineness — so many 
threads in a square inch — the said duty being very 
low on coarse articles. So the poor man gets his 
calico, or linen, very cheap ; and the superior articles 
that pay a heavier duty are bought by those who care 
little whether a dress or a shirt is a few pence cheaper 
or dearer a yard. But it ought to be known, that, in 
the cheaper articles, the North Americans have quite 
driven the English out of the market : there is not a 
South American guasso who would buy a yard of 
English calico when he could get North American, 
called ' crudos/ not being well bleached. They say 
that good wheaten flour is cheap in their own country, 
and they do not wish to buy it to make shirts of. I 
have literally and truly seen English linen and calico 
that looked beautiful, but rather glazy, put into a tub 
of water, and, after being dabbled about for a short 
time, taken out, looking like the bottom of a sieve ; 



164 BAD QUALITY OF ENGLISH LINEN. 

the interstices had been all filled up with flour and 
starch, which discoloured the water into which it had 
been dipped. 

I have seen the same thing in different parts of 
America. Once, in Central America, some Indians 
asked me to send to the coast for some linen, which I 
did, and paid a good price for it — meaning to make 
it a present to them ; but, when it arrived, it turned 
out to be something like that open stuff that ladies 
embroider upon : it had fallen into a river, and took 
an hour to be fished out, and that hour was enough 
to wash the starch out of it. 

These articles were all stamped with the names of 
respectable houses in Lancashire, but no doubt falsely. 
It is those dishonest practices that have deprived the 
English of all the ' crudo ' cotton market in America, 
and has aided to supplant the woollen cloth trade in 
favour of Belgium and Germany. I have seen a 
piece of English blue cloth, that would, on a small 
strain, separate in pieces, making a dust — I suppose 
what is called 'devil's dust/ Now, these things are 
dishonest, and reflect on the English character, which 
stands so high as regards commercial integrity; and 
respectable firms ought to prosecute and persecute 
those who fraudulently assume their stamps. If 
cotton manufacturers make use of flour for the stuff 
they sell to make shirts of, they had better own it, 
and put their brand and mark on it ; but they should 
not allow cheats and impostors, not only to assume 
their marks, but to sell in their own names (the names 



IMPORT AND EXPORT DUTIES. 165 

of respectable Lancashire firms), shirts and chemises 
made out of flour stuck on to a sieve back. 

But to return to the subject — the import duties, at 
the Custom-house, produce a large and certain return. 

The next item, on the credit side of the national 
balance-sheet, is the export duty, not only on gold 
and silver, but on copper, and even crude copper 
ores. Now, I have often grumbled about paying a 
good sum on the last account, but, on reflection, 
considered the government quite right: it was the 
foreigner that paid it, and the treasury that received 
it. The said duty upon copper ores is not heavy 
enough to be onerous on the exporter, but still con- 
tributes a very fair proportion to the ways and means 
of government. 

The duty upon gold and silver is mostly evaded by 
the precious metals being taken on board ship with- 
out the cognizance of the custom-house officers ; but 
copj)er, and copper ores, are always regularly weighed 
and the export duty exacted, the greatest part being 
paid by Englishmen. 

Another tax paid into the coffers of the state arises 
from licences granted to merchants^ store keepers, 
and owners of different classes of shops, without 
which they cannot exercise their calling 

This tax has truly and literally the same effect as 
the excise in England, but requires no staff or 
machinery to levy it ; a few supervisors being enough 
for the whole country. 

All the wholesale merchants, on a large scale, are 



166 STORAGE OF GOODS UNDER BOND. 

foreigners, and mostly Englishmen ; and they pay 
the highest duty for their licence. Eetail dealers pay 
a smaller one. There was no Englishman a retail 
dealer in Santiago when I was there, except an 
English watchmaker and jeweller; but there were 
many Frenchmen who pursued their vocations, some 
of them being hair-dressers, pastry-cooks, and of 
other light trades. But they all pay duty, and, that 
duty paid, saves all the inquisition of our excise. 

Assessed taxes are unknown, and it would seem 
rather hard to charge horse-duty to a beggar who 
rides about asking charity, as I have often seen. 

Another source of revenue that produces a fair 
round sum, is the amount paid for the storage of 
goods under bond. This duty is certainly onerous, 
because the charge is out of all proportion to the 
benefit incurred ; but again, whether onerous or not, 
the money is paid by the foreigner, — it goes into 
the treasury, and swells the revenue of the country. 

The above mentioned items, with the addition of 
harbour dues, are the principal sources of the public 
revenuCo If a minister consults the happiness and 
comfort of his ow7i nation^ in distributing the share 
and burden to be borne by each individual, he can- 
not follow a wiser principle than is pursued in Chili. 

There are few beggars to be seen in the country. 
The poor man gets his North American piece of 
' crudo' calico cheap, and the small duty paid at the 
Custom-house is the only tax he pays. The occupier 
of land, or the owner of a small estate, purchases a 



ErFECTS OF TAXATIOX. 167 

•rather more expensive article ; let it be finer linen for 
himself, and a good Manchester print for his wife, — - 
the duty paid at the Custom-house is the only tax he 
contributes in the year towards the expenses of the 
state. 

With the higher orders they buy more expensive 
articles, and consequently, as duties range ad valorem, 
the persons who purchase those articles pay so much 
more, in proportion, to the revenue ; but no one of 
the before-mentioned classes need pay one farthing if 
he do not choose. If they made their own shirts or 
petticoats, or had them made and manufactured in 
the country, the richest of them could pass their lives 
without paying a single tax. 

In short, the taxation is not felt; the foreigner pays 
nearly everything, and the Chilians pay the remainder 
in proportion to the luxuries they purchase, leaving 
every man's taxation absolutely to his own choice. 

The above remarks may very possibly be contrary 
to the principles laid down in our new political 
economy ; but there is no Chilian, from Arauco to 
the desert of Atacama, who would wish to change the 
mode of raising the revenue, and it must be confessed 
he would be a great fool if he did. ' England lent us 
money, and now England is paying the interest of it.' 
Such is the common belief, and no doubt a true one ; 
for I know men of forty or fifty thousand dollars a 
year, who seldom wear anything but country-made 
goods, and who pay no tax from one end of the year 
to the other. 



108 THE NAVIGATION LAWS. 

And now I must take my leave of Chili, and carry 
the reader, if he is still willing to accompany me, 
further to the north, meaning to d\yell for a short 
time only in the countries that separate Chili from 
Centra] America, for there is much to be said about 
the latter country, and much to be done in it ; but 
the facility of acting will* be discussed near the end of 
this little work. 

In taking leave of Chili, I cannot help repeating 
an opinion held by all persons who are conversant 
with the west coast of America, and that opinion is, 
that the late changes in the Navigation Laws will 
produce a great injury to our shipping interest in that 
part of the world. 

No uncertain single freight can compete with two 
certain ones. The Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Ham- 
burgians, and Dutch; can take a freight of ore from 
Chili, and are certain of, at least, a cargo of coals 
home, but the English vessel has, now, no such 
resource. 

I only mention the west coast of America as being 
the part of the world that I know the best, as regards 
our shipping interest, and hope that the increased 
prosperity of British shipping, in the remainder of 
the world, supposed likely to arise from our changes, 
will, on the average, compensate for the injury done 
to this particular branch. 

In again saying ^ Adios' to Chili, it may seem that I 
am like the unfortunate individual who — 



THE AIR OF CHILI. 169 

" Oft fitted the halter, 
Oft travers'd the cart, 
And often took leave, 
Eut seem'd loth to depart." 

But I must conclude with a few words of advice to 
travellers in that countn^, and shall, at the end of 
the book, give a few more to those who wish to ex- 
plore Central "America. 

The climate of Chili agrees remarkably well with 
the English constitution — but not for too many years 
together, on account of the air being so very dry, and 
its being so difficult to produce perspiration. Cer- 
tainly no person that ever has been in Chili, could 
have taken more real hard work or severer exercise 
than I did, both on hoiseback and on foot; and I 
never had an hour's illness during the four years I 
was knocking about the country, except from the 
effects of accidents, such as kicks from horses and 
sprains; but there is no country where the traveller 
gets so cruelly sun-burnt ; for, let him on his journey, 
or even as a sportsman, toil up a steep hill under a 
burning sun, doing his best, he can rarely even get 
into a perspiration, which would cool him immediately; 
and the consequence is, that the sun burning on the 
skin dried by the drier air, the parts exposed get 
perfectly parched, and the skin is peeled off the face 
or hands. 

Although I have been greatly exposed in countries 
where the thermometer shows a much higher degree 
of heat, yet that heat was not felt half so much as in 

I 



170 . ADVICE TO ENGLISHMEN 

Chili, on account of the moister chmate assisting the 
moisture of the skin. 

An Enghshman hving in ChiU ought to take a 
voyage every five or six years, either to Europe or to 
some other country for change of air, and no doubt 
it would do him good ; for let the voyage be even a 
short one, and from good air to bad, yet a change is 
better than the ' statu quo/ 

I would advise any Englishman who has to visit 
Chili, to take a good English saddle with him, made 
for a horse about fourteen hands high; but although 
it may j)rove very useful, now and then, I should 
strongly recommend him to use it very rarely; and 
also to take no bit or bridle, which are perfectly 
useless. 

Let him get accustomed to the Chilian saddles and 
bits, and, in short, to the whole custom of the country, 
and when he is away from large towns let him do 
exactly as the country people do. I would also 
advise him to take a good double-barrelled gun with 
him, and if he is fond of wandering about the country, 
also a pair of holster pistols — a pair of pocket pistols 
might sometimes be of use. Let him not look for 
good horses at the hands of any Valparaiso dealer ; 
but let him get some friend on whose judgment he 
can rely, and who has been accustomed to the interior 
of the country, to purchase his horses for him; — he 
will pay half the' price, and get really good animals, 
instead of rips. This plan is much better than hiring 
horses for a journey, for the horses, if proj)erly pur- 



VISITING CHILI. 171 

chased, will fetch back their money. I coald always 
have sold any one of my own horses for about double 
the price he cost me. I am alluding only to roadsters, 
and mine had a character. 

Another piece of advice : Let the traveller go well 
armed, but with no ostentation. I was going home 
very late on horseback one night, with a friend, in a 
wild district ; and he laughed at me for always going 
out well armed; he sorely lamented, half an hour 
afterwards, not having taken the same precautions. 

There are also some things for the traveller to 
beware of, and one of those is either touching, sleep- 
ing under, or even going very near to a tree called 
the 'litre/ 

There are many persons who are not in the least 
affected by the litre, but upon most men the effect is 
very painful; the head and other parts swell; the 
eyes get bunged up ; the itching all over the body is 
intolerable, and the disease lasts for five or six days. 

I have myself suffered three times from this tree; 
once when pursuing a horse to lasso him, I brushed 
right through a large clump of litres ; a second time 
when I took my noon-day meal, during a journey, 
under one of these trees, and in company with a gentle- 
man who was not affected by the tree at any time ; and 
the last time I caught this painful infection was from 
leaning, for the space of about half an hour, against 
a post, made, as I was informed too late, out of fresh 
litre wood. 

As this wood is much prized for burning in 

I2 



172 ADVICE TO ENGLISHMEN. 

furnaces, the wood-cutters search for it, but they 
suffer much before inured to the poison. Some men 
can never get over it, and others, from the very first, 
cut the wood with impunity; at all events, let the 
traveller give the tree a wide berth. , 

Lastly, and to conclude, let the traveller be well 
aware that a judicious choice of a servant or servants 
to accompany him, is not an easy matter for a 
stranger, and that he had better depend upon a 
respectable acquaintance than judge for himselfi 

I was very lucky with my servants in Chih, and 
indeed, in every part of America I visited. I never 
turned away a servant during six years I was in Ame- 
rica, except one, and he refused to go ; so after he had 
slept, and half starved, on the outside of the door for 
a week, I was quite beaten, and set him once more 
in his old position of 'Major Omnibus.' I found his 
son, whom I had retained in my service, had divided 
his rations with him. 

Both father and son were well known to many 
British officers of the Eoyal Navy, and I am sure they 
can testify how ready they were to promote any of 
the officers' enjoyments on a cruise on shore, in the 
shape of a long gallop into the countiy,* with hawk- 
ing i3arties, and above all, at great fatigue to them- 
selves, always giving the officers fresh horses, and 
riding the tired ones themselves. 



^ What the author means bj a *long gaUop,' is about 
a hundred or two hundred miles, with extras. ' 



'EXCHANGE NO ROBBERY.' 173 

Poor fellows ! they were much attached to me, and 
also to many of the English officers; but I received a 
letter shortly after I had arrived at my first landing- 
place, to say that they had both died within a fort- 
night after my dejoarture. 

When the son first came to me, he was so young 
and small that he was obhged to be lifted on horse- 
back, but he was a capital weight to ride ahead of the 
troop, and lead the Madrina mare. 

He had been bred up in the vast pampas beyond 
Mendosa, and was quite a young savage when I first 
got him. His father asked me to take him on to my 
establishment, and he sent over the Andes for him. 
He could not go himself, for he said he had a quarrel 
with the authorities there ; which quarrel, I beheve, 
was something in the horse-stealing line. He said 
it was ^pure matter of exchange — his own horse was 
tired, so he took a fresh one, and left his own in its 
place. Asking him which was the best horse, his 
only answer was, ' Why, patron, a fresh horse must 
be better than a tired one/ 



174 



CHAPTEEXII. 
BUFUBLIC OF FJERU. 

CASTLE or CALLAO — LIMA—sPEUITS — NATIONAL DEBTS— CHI- 
LIAN TEEACHEET — SLAYEEY AND EEPUBLICANISM — BULL- 
EIGHT — SANTA CEUZ — CHAEACTEE OE THE PEEUYIANS. 

FOR some persons, and I confess I am one of 
them, there is no rational, quiet enjoyment, 
greater than that derived from running along a 
magnificent coast, in a well-found, comfortable yacht 
in a fine climate. 

A smooth sea, a fair wind, an awning spread over 
the quarter deck, keeping off the rays of the sun, bat 
not checking the cooling breeze; decks as clean as 
holy-stone and water can make them ; a pleasant 
book, sketching portfolio, and, for those who like it, 
a fragrant cigar, may complete the picture of the said 
quiet enjoyment. 

Should any of my readers have ever run down from 
Gibraltar to Cape de Gata, with a westerly wind and 
smooth sea, he can form some idea of the run down 
of a part of the western coast of America. In both, 
the view is bounded on the land side by high snowy 
mountains; but, although the -'Sierra Nevada" in 
Spain cannot be compared for one instant with the 
towering Andes, yet the coast itself of Spain is far 
more interesting than that of America, on account of 
the numerous small ports, and the quantity of pictu- 



YACHTING. 175 

resque latine sails dotting the sea in every direction 
near the shore. 

The west coast of America has few ports, and those 
few are far apart ; it is seldom houses, or even huts, 
are seen,. and a fishing village is unknown, as there 
is nobody to buy the fish when caught. Even a sail 
is rarely seen, as all the vessels going to the south- 
ward stand well out to the westward. During almost 
the whole year, except the few days when a northerly 
wind blows, the breeze is from the south, the sea 
pretty smooth; and running past the Andes, the 
successive views of the stupendous Cordillera are 
magnificent: the rising of the sun over those 
immense mountains in the morning, illuminating 
the crests with gold, silver, and roseate hues, is very 
fine ; and the tints thrown by the setting sun upon 
the mountain tops, for some minutes after he has 
been lost sight of by those on deck, are curious and 
very beautiful. 

All these pleasures, combined with great comfort, 
capital living, and pleasant society, make a voyage of 
this sort the perfection of yacht sailing, with the 
advantage that there is an object in view. 

Nobody is fonder of yachting than myself, but to 
go out and sail about, without any object hut sailing 
about, I never could endure, unless it was for the 
purpose of trimming the vessel, or stretching the 
rigging, and that is an object. 

Callao is, as everybody knows, the seaport of 
Lima, from which city it is distant about six miles ; 
but it is a large town of itself, and has a great many 



176 CASTLE OF CALLAO. 

Stores and warehouses kept by foreign merchants. 
The anchorage is good, and the bay is seldom raffled 
by a strong breeze. As an old soldier, I Avent to see 
the Castle of Callao, that, under the command of 
Rodil, stood a siege of two years during the war of 
the Independence. I had heard so much of the 
place in Ohih, that I was anxious to see what this 
Gibraltar of Peru looked like. I was not allowed 
inside, and only had an opportunity of walking round 
part of the outside, being warned off in a very signifi- 
cant way by a sentry. 

I can only say, as the result of my observations, 
that a very small army, well found in siege material, 
ought to have taken the place in a week, or perhaps 
two days, instead of two years ; but if it had been 
properly shelled, I doubt its holding out for twenty- 
four hours. Such was my opinion of a fortress that 
had so great a Peruvian renown. 

Eodil, however, deserved great credit for the ob- 
stinacy of his defence, for not only was the blockade 
kept up so strictly as to reduce the garrison to great 
extremities, but treason and insubordination were of 
constant occurrence inside the fortress, and it was 
solely by his nerve and severity, shown by many 
bloody examples, that he retained his power. An 
Anglo- Chilian, who had served some time in the 
Peruvian army, gave me a curious account of some of 
the conspiracies, one of which I will relate. 

General Rodil had a suspicion, amounting to cer- 
tainty, that one of his aides-de-camp was conspiring 
against him. He called him into his study, and. 



A FATAL MISTAKE. 177 

after sealing a letter he had just written, told the 
aid-de-camp to carry it to the captain commanding 
the main-guard. The officer bowed, and withdrew; 
but he thought there was something odd in the 
general's manner, which, together, perhaps, with the 
state of his conscience, made him very uneasy; but 
he had no time to lose : he had to decide upon his 
line of proceeding very promptly ; so, meeting a 
brother aid-de-camp, he said to him, ' The General 
orders you to take this letter to the captain of the 
main guard/ He himself ran to his quarters, took 
what valuables he could put into his pocket, and hur- 
ried away to that part of the ramparts which was the 
lowest. He had hardly arrived there, when he heard 
a volley of musketry, which he felt had been intended 
for himself ; so, dropping down into the ditch, he got 
safe away into the enemy's camp, although fired at 
by two sentries. As the captain of the guard after- 
wards said, the letter given to him by an aid-de- 
camp contained only these words : ' Shoot the hearer 
of this note immediately ' (^ de re][)ente ') ; which order 
he was obliged to obey on the spot, and it was only 
found out an hour afterwards that the wrong man 
had suflPered ! 

The town of Callao is not built exactly upon the same 
spot that it was previous to its total destruction by the 
great earthquake of 1 746 ; but rather further away from 
the water s edge, I conclude to be more out of the way 
of such tremendous waves as destroyed the little of the 
old town that the earthquake itself had spared. 

I 3 



178 LIMA, 

There was an old man living in Oallao when I 
was there, whose father was one of the few that had 
escaped being drowned, or dashed to pieces, by the 
enormous rollers that swept over the ruins of the 
town; the said rollers in receding carrying every- 
thing back to sea, leaving the harbour dry for a long 
distance out. 

Callao was the first place on the coast where I saw 
persons suffering under tertian ague, and I was 
much struck with the singular regularity of its 
attacks. However, I had plenty of opportunities of 
making observations on my own self in a very few 
months. 

As mentioned before, Oallao is about six miles from 
Lima, with a gentle incline the whole way downwards 
towards the coast, but not more inclination than a 
railway engine with a train could easily run up ; and 
no doubt, from the quantity of public carriages run- 
ning at present on the high road, a railway would 
pay very well. 

For the last two miles near Lima the roa;d is very 
agreeable, on account of the beautiful gardens on 
each side of it. So much has been said and written 
upon Lima, its ancient glories, and its present enjoy- 
ments, that little more need be mentioned about the 
city or the country, unless it be a few remarks upon 
any peculiarities that distinguish Peru from adjacent 
countries, and have not been recorded by other 
travellers. 

A Frenchman told me, one day, that the state of 



A TEST OF CIVILIZATION. J 79 

civilization of any nation might be judged of by one 
infallible test ; which test was, the state of the national 
cookery. He joointed with an honest pride to Paris, 
as the capital of the world. 'I do not so much 
insist upon the Cafe de Paris, Vefoiirs, or the Ti^ois 
Freresl he said, ' as an example, for you can have as 
good, and, in one or two respects, a better dinner, at 
the Clarendon, the London Tavern, and a few other 
places ; but, for a moderate price, you cannot get a 
good dinner in London, and yet, in Paris, for the 
same money, you ^XQsure to get a good one. There- 
fore,' the good-natured Frenchman went on, ' how- 
ever mortifying it may be to your national pride, I 
am obliged to class Paris as the head and centre of 
civilization.' 

If my friend's theory be correct, Peru is as de- 
cidedly in advance of the Chilians, or any other 
nation on the west coast of America, as France is 
of England. 

One article used in cooking, in Chili, is at first 
repugnant to the taste of an Englishman, and it takes 
a long time before he can get rid of the dislike — that 
article is clarified beef-fat, which is used instead 
of lard or butter. It is seldom well clarified, and 
gives a coarse greasy taste to almost every dish in 
which it is used. 

In Peru, on the contrary, the finest hog's-lard is 
used ; and besides that, the Peruvian, in comparison 
with the Chilian, is really a good cook. 

The meat in Peru is not as good as in Chili ; the 



180 PERUVIAN FRUITS. 

poultry is better ; the fish is better, or at least tastes 
so, from being better cooked. The vegetables in 
general are not so good as in Chili ; and the fruits, 
-with the exception of melons, oranges, grapes, figs, 
&C.5 are quite different from the Chilian fruit. 

Here the chirimoya, called the queen of fruits, 
gains the highest perfection ; eaten with a spoon, 
the inside tastes like a most aromatic custard. The 
granadilla, which resembles an egg filled with the 
insides of gooseberries, and also eaten with a spoon, is 
a very grateful fruit. The pine-apple is not so good as 
further north, in Guayaquil, but almost every tropical 
fruit is found in perfection ; and it is curious to 
reflect, that all these are found in a country where it 
has never rained within the memory of man, there 
being a tradition that the last heavy shower of 
rain fell just before the tremendous earthquake 
of 1746. 

But Peru does not want rain. The skill of the 
Indians has intersected the whole cultivated country 
with small canals, or ' acequias,' which bring the 
waters that flow from the Andes into the fields, where 
they are subdivided into myriads of little irrigating 
channels. Besides these waters, which are portioned 
off* to the fields with such care,, the heaviest dews that 
are known to fall in the world keep the country in a 
highly productive state of moisture. I have often 
gone out early into the streets of Lima, and found 
them quite muddy, as if a steady rain had fallen 
during a great part of the night; and there are no 



EMBROIDERY. 181 

ordures thrown into the streets^ as in Lisbon, where, 
after dark, they soon get impassable. 

My friends and I took up our quarters at a de- 
lightful hotel ; the table-d'hote, presided over by the 
master and mistress, was first-rate; and every luxury, 
combined with very great cleanliness, was visible in 
each department. 

We only strolled through the town the first day, 
and found a universal stagnation of business, ex- 
cept in one trade, and that was in gold and silver 
embroidery, which was carried on, under the piazzas 
of the great square, with much activity. 

Lima was then occupied by Chilian troops, and the 
officers gave some employ to the embroiderers ; but 
the reason of the said occupation was curious enough, 
and shows that neither nations nor individuals always 
do to others as they would be done by. 

Chili owed a large debt to England : at that time 
paid neither capital nor interest, and yet was much en- 
raged when any doubt of her honesty was hinted at. 

Peru owed likewise a large debt to England, and 
like Chili, she paid neither capital nor interest ; but 
when she was called dishonest and faithless, did not 
seem even to feel the indignity, but resigned herself 
quietly, saying, ' It may be all very true that I am 
very bad, but what is the use of telling me so T 

But in an evil hour, Peru had incurred a debt to 
Chili, or rather a bill was sent to Peru for payment 
of the costs of an expedition sent many years before 
to help Peru, during the war of the Independence. 



182 CHILIAN TREACHERY. 

Chili then acted the part of the bad servant in 
the parable : although forbearance had been showed 
her by England, she took her fellow- servant by the 
throat, and said, 'Pay me all that thou owest to me.' 
Accordingly, Chili equipped a fleet, — put a mutinous 
army on board, that had just murdered poor Don 
Diego Portalis, the prime minister, — invaded Peru, 
— committed horrible excesses, — and were only pre- 
vented from murdering Santa Cruz by a detachment 
of British marines. The Chilians then not only 
exacted every farthing of a trumped-up old debt, but 
made Peru pay for every expense that they had 
incurred by making use of a mutinous army; and all 
this at the very time that Chili was making a great 
outcry at a rumour that England would enforce her 
debt. 

If England would at the present moment insist 
upon her debts being paid, an arrangement would 
be made almost immediately by every indebted nation 
— and by none more quickly than the contemptible 
repudiating States of North America. A Spaniard 
said to me the other day, ' Our government is so 
bad that we cannot pay, although 1 am certain that 
almost every Spaniard wishes to fulfil his obligations; 
but look at those vile 'Picaros' in the repudiating 
States of America. They have the meaiis of paying, 
and the abandoned wretches prefer stealing the 
money they have borrowed to doing their duty as 
honest men. What makes it worse is,' continued the 
Spaniard, ' that their actual prosperity is solely owing 



CHILIAN TREACHEEY. lft3 

to the money that enabled them to make then' canals 
and railways; that money being stolen from many 
orphans and widows, who trusted their sole sub- 
sistence into the hands of those scoundrels, who are 
now fattening on their starvation and misery/^ 

Before the invasion took place, and the bay of 
Callao was occupied by a pretty strong Chilian 
squadron, Santa Cruz had sent the few small vessels 
belonging to the Peruvian navy away to other parts, 
retaining only one fine schooner and a few gun-boats. 
The Chilians wished to get possession of the schooner, 
but the manner in which they succeeded in attaining 
their object was so disgraceful, and at the same time 
so characteristic of the treacherous mode of proceed- 
ing in the New Eepublics, that it is worth while 
to relate it. 

As before said, this Peruvian man-of-war was 
lying in the Bay of Callao. A Chilian man-of-war 
brig, with a very large complement of men, but the 
greater part kept helow, was sent to Callao, bearing a 
flag of truce, and carrying dispatches. The Chilian 
came to an anchor near the Peruvian, and after the 
dispatches had been delivered, the Chilian captain 
went on board the Peruvian vessel, to pay his com- 



* I have only mentioned the opinion of a foreigner respect- 
ing the enormous sums owing to Englishmen and English 
women, who have been reduced to beggary and starvation by 
the men who lately, at a great meeting in one of the Southern 
States, declared that they would not pay, for fear it should go 
into Queen Victoria's pocket. 



184 AN EQUIVOCAL 'RUSE.' 

pliments, and to invite her captain to dinner. After 
dinner, they went on shore, and visited several houses 
of entertainment. At last, when rather late at night, 
the Chihan captain proj)osed a game of bilhards. 
Several games were played, when the Chilian caiotain 
made some excuse, that he wanted to go out for a 
short time, and he asked another person in the room 
to play for him until he returned. 

He then ran down to the shore, where his boat 
was waiting for him to go on board his ship, slipped 
his cable, and laid his brig alongside of the Peruvian 
vessel; the crew boarded her, and took the unsus- 
pecting Peruvians prisoners without the slightest 
struggle. This Judas-like captain got the schooner 
under weigh, and saved the anchor and chain he had 
slipped, before the Peruvian captain had finished his 
billiards. When the last got down to his own boat 
he could see, by the clear moonlight, his vessel, 
escorted by the Chilian, standing out to sea. 

I do not remember having ever heard, or even 
read, of such a piece of rascality, and ydt I have 
heard the story told by an actor in the disgraceful 
afiair, as if it had been the most successful and 
praiseworthy 'ruse de guerre' ever perpetrated.' I 
could not help telling him, that I was very glad it 
was not an Englishman that played the part of traitor 
in his drama. But it must be confessed, that if 
success makes ' treason no treason,' and treachery 
allied to oppression only skilful dij^lomacy, the 
ChiUans were skilful diplomatists and politicians, — 



SLAVERY AND REPUBLICANISM. 185 

for they actually got everything they could possibly 
have wished for. 

They paid themselves their original debt ; swelled 
out to a monstrous amount by all sorts of accumula- 
tion of interest ; they employed a mutinous army and 
paid it out of Peruvian forced contributions ; they 
created a navy, paid also by Peru; and, above all, 
they succeeded in their principal object, which was 
ruining Callao and throwing her growing prosperity 
back to Valparaiso. 

Had an English squadron behaved to Chili with 
one quarter of the violence that Chili used towards 
Peru, what cries of indignation, and what dreadful 
appeals to the sympathies of all nations, would have 
been heard over the world ! But republics in 
general think that they have a right to perform, with 
the greatest coolness, oppressive acts that other 
governments would never dream of; and we have had 
plenty of examples of their free action lately from the 
St. Lawrence down to Cape Horn, in America ; cer- 
tainly, our French republican friends have not shown 
themselves over j)unctilious in their last attack upon 
Rome. 

No monarchy would have dared to commit such an 
outrage. 

On the second morning, at breakfast, T ojoened a 
Lima Gazette, and could not help, then, being aware 
that I was in a land of slavery and rej^ublicanism. 
There were advertisements from the police offices, 
saying, that such or such a slave had been found in the 



186 SLAVERY. 

Streets after the allowed hour^, and without a pass, 
requesting the citizen owner to identify him and 
release him. Other advertisements -gave notice that 
a slave had run away, giving a description and 
requesting that he or she -might be detained wherever 
met with. Other advertisements again gave notice 
that an excellent slave cook was to he let ; or a 
washerwoman was to be had by the day ; the money 
gained always going to the owner of the slave. 

I could not help feeling thankful (although person- 
ally a great sufferer by our emancipation) that the 
blot of being absolute proprietors of human flesh and 
blood had been erased from our national escutcheon. 

Yet the slaves in Peru^, and especially those in 
towns, and all household slaves, are treated with great 
kindness, and even with a familiarity we should not 
dream of using towards our servants in England. 
The work they have to perform in towns is very light, 
and they seem to have plenty of time to enjoy them- 
selves. Up the country, on the sugar estates, how- 
ever, the work is really hard and severe, and the 
slaves are obliged to be kept to their work with a 
tight hand and a cutting whip. They are likQ the 
unfortunate slaves of Brazils and Cuba. They are 
supposed, by a certain class of philanthropists in 
England, who have succeeded in ruining entirely all 
our West India colonies, to afford a finer flavoured 
slave sugar, than' what could be produced by the 
free(?) labour imposed upon our English planters. 

I subsequently made a long voyage with a Peruvian 



SLAVERY. 187 

gentleman who had a large sugar estate about fifty 
miles from Lima, that estate having the reputation of 
being in first-rate order. He told me that although 
he never allowed a slave to be flogged, without his 
own order, when he was on the estate, or by order of 
his substitute when he was not, — still he had to 
punish slaves for gross crimes and faults that could 
not be overlooked, almost every day. He told me 
that without the whip hanging 'in terrorem' over 
their heads, a day's work could never be extracted 
from them. 

For those who are, or profess to be so glad at the 
extinction of slavery in our English colonies, there is 
only one answer. The extinction of slavery might 
have been made more gradual, as was originally 
agreed upon by all parties ; hnt faith was broken. 

A solemn agreement was made that foreign slave- 
grown sugar should not enter into competition with 
the free-labour sugar forced on the English planters. 
Public faith was again broken in the most barefaced 
way. 

I was rather amused at the observation a well- 
known American gentleman made very lately to me, 
at a dinner-party. He said, ' We do not and cannot 
believe, in America, that your government wishes to 
put down the slave-trade or slavery. How can we 
believe it, when we know that it is in the power of 
England to put it down, by just resolving in parlia- 
ment, that no slave-grown sugar should be received 
into England or any of her colonies? A simple reso- 



188 A BULL-FIGHT. 

lation passed to that effect, would knock slavery up, 
or at least the slave-trade, in a few months. Yet you 
encourage slave-produce as much as you can, — and 
sj)end four millions of dollars every year on the coast 
of Africa, in pretending that slavery is abominable.' 

There was evidently no reasonable answer to the 
above remark. 

One advertisement in the above-mentioned gazette, 
also gave notice that there would be a grand bull- 
fight in the great bull-circas, that same afternoon; 
but I should not think of describing anything in 
such a well-known and tracked trail, if there were 
not something novel to relate : so after dinner we 
wended our way to the Bull-ring (anglice), which is 
a little way out of the city, on the other side of the 
bridge, where the fashionables of Lima take their 
evening lounge. 

Having seen many first-rate bull-fights in Spain 
and in other countries, I wished to see the different 
modes of proceeding. We had secured a good box 
just opposite the gate from which the bulls issued 
into the ring. 

There was accommodation for all ranks ; high and 
low, rich and poor; and every jjlace seemed to be 
occupied before the sports, or rather the butcheries 
began. 

There were a great many ladies present, but none 
acknowledged themselves as such by wearing Parisian 
costumes. Some dressed in the very close fitting 
saya and mantilla, with only one eye visible, (though 



A DWARF BULL-FIGHTER. 189 

the one eye often did as much execution as any two); 
but the greatest number were dressed in a wider 
flounced gown, but still wearing the mantilla. Our 
box was visited during the performance by many 
ladies, and it was as impossible to say to what rank 
of society they belonged, as to know at first whether 
they were pretty or not. 

The age could only be guessed at by the hands, but 
the one brilliant eye was a puzzler. 

The area of a Peruyian arena is not level and 
clear like a Spanish one. In the centre are five 
strong posts that form a sort of cross, the intervals 
being filled up with strong palisades, just wide 
enough apart to allow a man on foot between them, 
but not to admit a bull. 

Now to the bull-fight. 

On the trumpets being sounded, the bull-fighters, 
both on horseback and on foot, came into the circus 
in procession, and having saluted the governor, 
marched round the arena. They were not dressed in 
the beautiful ^ majo' costume of Andalusia, but more 
like the old Spanish costumes, with sorts of ^ Henri 
Quatre' hats and feathers. However, there was one 
of the horsemen who attracted the attention of every- 
one ; he was a very small dwarf, with only an apology 
for a pair of diminutive legs. What use he could be 
of in the fight we could not conjecture. But when 
the procession stopped, one of the men on foot 
handed him oflf from the tallest horse in the caval- 
cade, and put him dow^n into a hole in the ground 



190 A BULL-FIGHT. 

that had escaped our notice. The said hole was 
just wide enough to receive him, but rather deep, 
with a little perpendicular ladder on one side of the 
interior. There the dwarf was deposited with an 
immense plumage of red and yellow feathers in his 
hat, — his head just peering above ground. 

The whole party then -dispersed, and got ready for 
the rash of the first bull, the banderillos, or fighters 
on foot, remaining safe in the central barricade. 
The bulls were no more to be compared with the 
wild bulls of the Sierras in Spain, that are brought 
down to Spanish bull-fights, than a French caniche 
is to an English bull-dog. Yet still they were dan- 
gerous, and, having been teazed in their dens, were 
savage. 

The trumpets again sounded ; a large pair of fold- 
ing doors were thrown open, and out rushed a red 
bull. He was not tormented, but killed almost imme- 
diately. The picador, armed with a short sjoear, 
(unlike the Spanish one, that has little more than. a 
sharp nail at the point, that cannot penetrate more 
than two inches), stuck close to the flanks of the bull, 
and thrust his spear clean through the body of the 
animal, just behind the shoulders. The lance must 
have penetrated the heart, for the animal dropped 
down dead. 

The next bull was not destined to be killed, but 
only to be teased -by the men on foot: there was 
scarcely any danger with this beast, as the men could 
always retire to the central fortification ; but part of 



A BULL-FIGHT. 191 

this drama was the most hidicrous thing I ever saw. 
The bull found himself, after being irritated, just 
close to the dwarfs head, adorned with his fine 
j)lumage : his astonishment was very curious : he 
snorted, bellowed, pawed up the ground, and at last 
made a furious dash at the party-coloured head ; but 
when he charged, the head had vanished : up it came 
again, to the surprise of the bull ; another more des- 
perate charge followed, but again down went the 
dwarf, amidst the roars of laughter from all parts of 
the circus. Several times the bull returned to the 
charge, but, as the dwarf dropped down to the bottom 
of his hole every time, the perplexity of the bull was 
perfectly ludicrous. The same thing also occurred 
during more sanguinary periods of the subsequent 
bull-fights. This bull was then driven out. 

Next appeared a negro, bearing a spear, enormous 
in length and thickness, with a sling at about one- 
third of the way from the butt. A large, square log 
of wood was placed on the ground, about twenty 
yardsfcfrom the door, whence the bulls rushed out, 
and directly opposite our box. 

The negro placed the butt of the spear on the 
ground, in front of the log, keeping it fast by kneel- 
ing with one knee on it, but directing the jDoint of 
the spear by placing the sling round his shoulders. 
He held the point of the spear in a line with the 
door, and his object was to meet the first rush of the 
bull in the middle of the forehead, so as to make the 
bull's own impetus force the spear into the brain. 



192 AN EXTEAORDINARY FIGHT. 

This was a feat for which this negro was famous ; 
however, this time he failed. The trumpets sounded ; 
the doors flew open ; the bull rushed out : he made 
a desperate dash at the negro, but the spear missed, 
and the negro was taken out of the circus perfectly 
stunned and senseless — the bull having been drawn 
oS by the men on foot. 

This bull being destined to be killed, was dispatched 
by a matador in very fair style, but not in the chivalric 
way that the old Spanish ' Plater o' would have per- 
formed it. 

The last fight — man versus bull — was the most 
perfect exhibition of coolness and skill, against brute 
courage, that I ever saw. 

A savage black bull was let out, and he galloped 
round the circus, making several charges at the dwarf; 
but at last he found himself confronted by a huge 
muscular negro, who had only a small red cloak on 
his left arm, and a knife about a foot long in the 
right hand. 

Now began this really extraordinary fight.^ The 
black bull rushed at the black man, who stepped on 
one side, let the bull pass under his left arm adorned 
with the red cloak, and drove his knife into the 
animal's neck, as he passed. Bound turned the bull 
to rush again, but he was received in the same 
manner with a second severe wound. Charge after 
charge was made by the bull, and received by the 
negro in the same cool and skilful manner; the 
object of the negro being to strike the bull in the 



I 



DEATH OF THE BULL. 193 

pith of the neck ; but that is next to impossible, or 
if it is done, while the bull is in action, must be done 
by chance. 

Nearly a quarter of an hour did these two black 
champions fight together, and several times the black 
man was in great danger, but at last the black bull 
(not meant as a pun) was fairly coivd, and the negro 
man became the assailant. He walked very gently 
up to his head, and drove his knife into the pith of 
the neck. The animal was dead before he fell on the 
ground. 

Having attended many bull fights in diff'erent parts 
of the world, I should never have thought of relating 
such old stories, if I had not something fresh to tell, 
and I have never seen the above account in any work. 

On returning home, we found the bridge crowded 
with ladies and gentlemen, enjoying the cool evening 
breeze. In no single instance did we see any of the 
Chilian officers conversing with, or in the society 
of, any Peruvians of good family. There was one 
universal feeling of regret for Santa Cruz, and of 
detestation for their invaders, Avho not only had 
destroyed the tranquillity they had long enjoyed, 
but had ruined their commerce ; and worse than all, 
had put their grasping hands into the Peruvian 
pockets, a sin seldom forgiven by the most forgiving. 

I was told by several gentlemen in Lima, that ^s 
they knew I was going to pay a visit to Santa Cruz 
in his exile, they trusted I would deliver him their 
profound respects, and tell him that they would have 

K 



194 SANTA CRUZ. 

written, had it not been too dangerous for themselves, 
and, they were pleased to add, for myself also. 
However, the day before I left Peru, I dined with 
the English Oonsul-General and Charge d'Affaires, 
who gave me another letter to Santa Cruz, to add to 
some left in the brigantine. 

Santa Cruz was fond'of the English, and when in 
power showed them much attention. After his 
narrow escape, he always spoke with gratitude of his 
being saved from a cruel death by a few English 
marines. He had taken refuge in a seaport to the 
south of Peru, — I think Arica, — and was closely 
followed by a large body of lancers. A detachment 
of British marines had been landed from a frigate, 
and just arrived in time to form up ^to receive 
cavalry,' as these barbarous spearsmen galloped up. 
Santa Cruz placed himself in the centre of the detach- 
ment ; the marines retired steadily, and in good 
order, through the streets to the shore, and brought 
the President safely off. If the detachment had been 
two minutes later, poor Santa Cruz would have died 
a cruel death. He was taken to Guayaquil, about 
900 miles to the north of Arica, where he was hos- 
pitably received. 

Everybody returning from Peru ought to take back 
with him a ' saya,' and ' mantilla,' for his sister, wife, 
love, or one to le, — and every man must have at least 
one of the above. It makes a very pretty dress for a 
' bal costume,' and has the advantage of making the 
wearer as perfectly unknown as if she wore a mask. 



ITALIA. ]95 

Let every one, also, -who is returning home, and 
has a kind father, uncle, or warm-hearted god-papa, 
who may be fond of a delicate ' chasse cafe' after 
dinner, take with him two or three ' demi-Juanas' 
(demi- Johns) of that exquisite liqueur, ' Italia,' from 
Pisco. 

This Italia is perfect; but the real Italia ought not 
to be confounded with common Pisco, although they 
both come from the same place ; it obtains its name 
on account of its being made from a very delicate 
grape imported from Italy, and improved much in 
its adopted country. Kaisins from Pisco are also 
very delicate, but I do not think, whatever care may 
be taken with them, that they could stand the passage 
home. In the Atlantic, few eatables can stand pass- 
ing the calms, from about three degrees north of the 
line, to seven or eight north. 

I think the above are almost the only presents a 
person can bring back from Peru, unless he takes 
gold chains, some of which are exquisitely worked. 
But if the person who is carrying home a ' chasse 
cafe' has room in his vessel for a sack of the coffee 
that is to be chasse'd, he most certainly ought to take 
a sack or two of the very small beaned coffee of 
Yunghai. It is equal to the finest Mocha, which few 
Englishmen can judge of, because very few have 
tasted it. 

It would not be difficult to relate more about Peru — 
the animals, the lamas, vicunas, and guanacos — but 
the trail is old, stale and beaten, and having no 

:k 2 



196 CHAEACTER OF THE PERUVIANS. 

servants or horses of ray own in the country, I could 
not strike oflP fresh ground ; and yet I am convinced 
that there is much to be done in Peru, by anybody 
who would take the trouble that I did, for two years, 
in Central America, to watch closely the habits of the 
wild beasts, birds, insects and reptiles, who are nearly 
masters of that country.' 

When our party assembled at dinner and we had 
all given an account of the way in which we had 
spent the last three weeks ; of all our adventures and 
expeditions, we unanimously resolved to go to sea the 
next day. Abundance of the delicacies of Peru were 
ordered to be sent on board, and w^e took our leave 
of this harmless, indolent, but I must add, most 
voluptuous people. 

The Peruvians, as a nation, have very nearly the 
same character that we hear given every day to a 
good-natured indolent man — * he has no enemy but 
himself.' The Chilian nation has continually been 
a thorn, and a sharp, good- sized one, in the ribs of 
Peru. Chili knows well, that, with a steam communi- 
cation along the coast, joining the European steam 
communication by Chagres and Panama, Valparaiso 
can no longer hold her head up as the first entrepot 
on the Avestern coast of America, which she was, 
and which she will be for some time in relation to 
the vessels that now have to go round Cape Horn. 
But when the great canal is cut through Nicaragua, 
which I trust will shortly be comrqenced, Valparaiso 
will fall off to a mere entrepot for supplying goods 



REPUBLICAN TYRANNY. J 97 

for the nation, and also for a portion of the Pampa 
Indians, including, besides, Mendoza and a few other 
large towns. 

In general, a Peruvian — provided he can live at his 
ease, enjoy his gambling, and, when young, his in- 
trigues, for he soon gets what the French call ^ blase, 
worn out, and caring for little but the excitation of 
gambling — is -peYhctlY indifferent to any sort of 
government or to any revolutions, if they only do not 
touch the pocket. 

I could not help feeling a sort of pride, on reflecting 
that Englishmen would not suffer for a month, such 
gross tyranny as is imposed on the Peruvians in the 
shape of republican government, 

Lima, Oallao, and the adjacent towns, could surely 
afford ten thousand men vrho wish for orde?* and 
would say they will have it. 

Out of those ten thousand, at least one half, or five 
thousand, could arm themselves with first-rate rifles. 
And yet the generality of revolutions have been 
effected by two or three thousand badly-armed men. 

Any one may love the beautiful country, and I 
cannot help wondering why the beautiful Peruvian 
women do not all despise the men. A great many 
do. 

A confederation of the young men of Lima, well 
armed, might easily put down any revolution ; they 
might choose their own president and laugh at future 
revolutions; and they could also, then, enjoy their 
easy dreaming existence in more security. 



198 THE PERUVIAN AND CHILIAN COMPARED. 

Physically speaking, the Peruvian is far inferior to 
the Chilian ; he is inferior in bodily strength ; inferior 
in animal pluck, and far inferior in energy, — owing 
most probably to the enervating influence of the 
climate. 

But our pretty brigantine has just fired a gun ; she 
has the blue Peter at the fore — her main- sail set, 
looking as flat as a board; her fore-topsail loose, the 
yard more than half hoisted, just ready to sheet home 
the sail, and the single cable right 'up and down — 
so ' Adios, beautiful Peru!' 



199 



CHAPTER XIIL 

CAPE BLANCO— BOLSA-WOOD EAFTS — DOLPHIN FISHING A 

SHAEK HOOKED — GUAYAQUIL — THE ALLIGATOR — SANTA 

CEUZ POET OF VALPARAISO — AN OLD WEECK — SEA 

FIGHTS — KILLING A SNAKE — THE PADEE's STOET. 

TT7E are again, reader, if you have followed my 
^ ' trail so far, running along a magnificent coast, 
with a smooth sea, a fair and refreshing breeze, 

I wish to carry my reader along with me, that we 
may discuss the last chapter relating to the great 
cutting through the Continent, and joining, in some 
degree, the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

The coolest and most agreeable place on board a 
schooner or brigantine, provided that the wind is fair 
— that some sail protect you from the sun, and that 
you wish to be by yourself for an hour or two, is out 
on the bowsprit, and seated on the heel of the jib- 
boom, inside, as some schooners are fitted, the fore- 
stay-sail nettings. 

Our worthy captain and myself made that spot our 
head- quarters, to admire how beautifully the vessel's 
bows divided the water, without making any noise. 
She passed ships that made as much row as a black 
fish blowing, but this vessel made no perceptible 
noise in cleaving the water. The beautiful twenty- 
five ton vessels of the Royal Thames Yacht Club had. 



200 CAPE BLANCO. 

and have, that remarkable quahfication of steaUng 
through the water without a ripple being heard ; but 
the rather dishonest system of raking the stern-post 
in such a manner, that when a foot or two is cut off 
the false keel, the vessel becomes bigger in tonnage, 
is rather too bad. 

An ' up-and-down' stem, and an ^ up-and-down 
stern-post, are the safest, the fastest, and the best; 
and first-rate merchant builders have found that out. 
Again I must beg pardon for such a digression ; but 
when I get upon yacht-building, and sailing the craft 
after built, I scarcely know where to stop. Many 
officers in the army may now remember the pleasant 
cruises and shooting parties, on board my pretty 
cutter, on the coasts of Spain and Africa. 

But, ' revenons a nos moutons.' 

Cape Blanco was on our starboard bow, about two 
or three miles off. I was sitting on the heel of the 
jib-boom, with a very good telescope on one side, and 
a sketch-book on the other — I had been making 
coloured views of the coast for making the land. 

The fresh breeze was as fair as it could blow, and 
was sending us along at the rate of more than ten 
knots an hour, with almost a smooth sea. 

The log had just been hove. 

Our worthy captain came out to me on the bow- 
sprit. ' Well, here we go, sir, ten and a half — linka- 
turn 'poop — with the wind right aft, just giving a small 
stretch on our topsail-sheets.' ' Ah !' he continued, ' I 
see what you have been looking at through your glass-; 



A STRANGE PIECE OF CANVAS. 201 

but I calculate that you won't make out that strange 
piece of canvas in a considerable space of time/ 

^ Well/ I said, ' I have seen square-rigs, fore-and- 
afters, feluccas, lateeners, luggers, and lots of other 
craft in many parts of the world, but I never saw such 
a sail or hull as that* 

' Why, that,* the captain replied, * is nothing more 
than a raft of Bolsa-wood, out of the Guayaquil 
river. When I came down this coast at first, I was 
as much puzzled as you are now/ 

* But,* I exclaimed, ^ look at the sail ; it is full of 
holes and rents, and yet seems to stand like a board !' 

'AyT the skipper replied, ' it is a merciful bless- 
ing she can t keep all the wind to herself ; but it is 
impossible to see sails set flatter than those rags. 
See! she has just caught the stiff breeze off Cape 
Blanco, and has hauled close to the wind ; she is 
bound to Payta, or some other small port close by/ 

'But what a curious hull,* I said, 'for the sea 
washes clean over it/ 

' Ay !' went on the captain, ' I have certainly seen 
nicer-looking craft turned out of Baltimore; but that 
hull that you are looking at is nothing more than a 
raft — and that's a fact ! It is made of Bolsa-wood, 
and I make my razor- strops of the same stuff. StewardI 
go and fetch up one of my wooden razor-strops/ 

Up came the steward, with the wooden razor-strop; 
it looked like the pith of some shrub, but the wood 
grows rather large. 'Now,' continued my friend, 
' the people lash these logs together lengthways, 

k3 



202 A CALM. 

leaving the centre one the longest, as a stem, and 
others shorter on each side, for the bows of their 
vessel. They then cross and recross the wood, until 
the middle is high enough above water to keep their 
provisions dry and their water fresh ; but the steers- 
man aft is literally up to his knees in water. They 
stick a pole in the centre, as a mast to hoist that 
sail upon ; and a few planks are thrust straight down, 
to serve as a keel to make the craft hold her wind ; 
and as, whenever they have to go to the south of 
Guayaquil, the wind is almost always contrary, they 
have to work, tack and tack, to windward. 

' After their return to Guayaquil, they unlash their 
rafts, and leave the wood on the shore to dry, as it 
is so porous that in a few wrecks it absorbs so much 
water as to lose much of its buoyancy. I saw once 
one of these rafts close to a whale-boat under sail on 
a wind ; and although the boat went faster through 
the water, it made much more lee-way than the raft 
did. 

' But now we are round Cape Blanco,' continued 
the captain, ^ and the wind has served me the same 
dirty trick it has often done just here, before— -carried 
me nicely round the point, and then cut off, as if it 
was above being seen in the bay. Look at the stiff 
breeze curling the water up three hundred yards 
astern, while we are going barely a knot; but, one 
comfort, we are in a prime place for fishing, so we 
can have some sport, .and give the people a fresh 
mess. Are you fond of chowder ?' 

' What is that in Enghsh ?' I replied. 



DOLPHIN-FISHING. 203 

^Oh, only a tip-top soup made of dolphins' heads. 
I say, men, knock off work, and turn all hands to 
fish. Steward, bring up my grains, fishing-tackle, 
and a good piece of pork rind.' 

Now, being a very fair fisherman myself, both in 
fresh and salt water, I soon made a good imitation 
of a flying fish out of the rind ; and throwing it over 
the stern, scarcely twenty fathoms of my line was 
run out, when I had fast hold of a large dolphin, 
— and we could guess at his size pretty well by the 
rapidity with which he carried out the line, — for we 
had scarcely time to bend on another long line to the 
end in-board of the one running out. 

I brought him u]p at last by a turn round a 
belaying-pin, and hauled him along-side; but he 
made three or four desperate runs, and was at last 
brought close under the counter of the vessel, when 
the captain, standing on the bulwarks, drove his 
grains clean into the fish, and he was hauled on deck. 

Three or four more were caught from the stern, 
and the men on the jib and flying-jib boom ends also 
had success; but in every case, after the fish had 
been hooked, the captain's grains were called into 
requisition, and I never saw him miss his aim at a 
fish. 

It is often said that the beauty of the changing 
colours of a dying dolphin has been much exag- 
gerated; but under favourable circumstances — such as 
a bright sunshine, the changes are certainly very 
striking. I always run a sharp-pointed knife into 
the back of the neck of every fish I take myself, 



204 DOLPHIN-HEAD SOUP. 

Tvhich puts them out of their pam immediately ; but 
I have often admired the beautiful metallic-lustred 
hues of the dolphin, and they are. certainly most 
varyiug. I believe the changing of coloar must 
proceed from the same cause that changes an apple- 
green whip-snake to a sky-blue one after death, as I 
have often seen ; but a better illustration may be 
mentioned, in indigo manufacture, when a lump of 
green-looking mud is changed, by exposure to the 
air, to a fine rich blue, by the absorption of the 
oxygen in the atmosphere. I think myself, that the 
animals who. change colour soon after death, or when 
dying, have the power to resist that absorption during 
life that they lose when dead or dying. 

The first dolphin I hooked that day was the largest 
one I ever caught in any sea I had ever floated on ; 
the others were all of a fair size. The men dressed 
their fish, with a few hints from the cook, in every 
sort of way, not forgetting the soup made from the 
dolphins' heads. 

Now^ our cook was a first-rate Jamaica artist, who 
— as all cooks should do — took an honest pride in 
his profession, and would sometimes make many 
experiments on a new dish before he ventured to 
submit it to his employer's table. 

His dolphin-head soup, which he called chowder, 
was most excellent, and tasted something like turtle 
soup, made from a fresh-caught turtle. Being made 
from the head only, the pieces of fish in the soup are 
not tough and dry Hke the body. Part of the fish 



GRILLED SHAKK. 205 

was fried in slices, like soles, but it was hard and 
dry. Our cook, who was really an inventive artist, 
told me that he had tried every way to make dolphin 
eatable, but the only way that he knew was, pounding 
them np with potatoes, and baking the mixture. 

I once was in a vessel, lying like a log on the 
Atlantic ocean, in the calms, about four degrees north 
of the line ; and very early in the morning hooked a 
young shark, scarcely a yard long. Thinking he 
might be eatable, I had a few slices grilled for break- 
fast, but the first mouthful was quite enough, and it 
took a fair quantity of brandy to get rid of the hor- 
rible oily, rank taste. However, the sailors were not 
so particular, for they picked every bone in the fish 
quite clean. 

One digression leads to another; and although I 
wish to arrive at the last chapter, which will be more 
interesting to commercial men, and to politicians, as 
it will relate to the great intended water communica- 
tion between the Atlantic and the Pacific ; yet still, 
I believe that many of my readers like a tale of 
natural history, and few persons, I believe, have 
watched the habits of wild beasts, birds, fishes, and 
reptiles, more closely than I have done. 

I allude now to the remarkable tenacity of life in 
the shark. 

Every person who has been much at sea, knows 
that the arming of a shark-hook, and that of a dolphin, 
is very diff'erent: the former being generally iron 
chain — the latter, packed with some loose stuff. A 



206 A SHARK HOOKED. 

dolphin will bite through a strong line if it is not 
armed, and I have always found that cotton wool is 
the best to pack round the line from the hook, served 
wide apart with any thread. 

I was fishing for dol|)hin one calm day on the west 
coast of Africa, and had my two lines over the stern, 
armed as mentioned. 

I had manufactured on board a sort of reel, some- 
thing like the reel used for heaving the log, with 
the fishing-line wound round it, but with a small />a// 
to chatter when the reel run off. 

The bait was trolling astern at about half a mile 
an hour (barely steerage way), and we were just 
coming on deck from dinner, when the reel began to 
move slowly and the pall to make a noise. I was 
sure it was not a dolphin, though the crew thought 
otherwise ; for a dolphin dashes like a strong trout 
on his Jlrst run. But feeling sure it was a shark, 
playing at the bait, I gave a sharp pull and hooked 
the monster, as I found out afterwards, exactly in the 
nose. Now, if he had got the bait and hook in the 
mouth, he would have snap23ed it off, arming and 
all; but the beast was hooked in such a tender part 
that a child could have led him. We were all very 
much surprised to see tliis shark, which was the 
largest any of the crew had ever seen, hauled along- 
side so easily by a dolphin-line. 

When under the' main- chains, and having seen the 
shark was hooked by the nose, I ran down to my 
cabin, and brought u^^ a double barrelled smooth 



A ' MOXSTER.' 207 

bore^ of musket calibre, with a quantity of ball- 
cartridges I had made for the gun, and a beautiful 
Purdey double-rifle of the same bore. 

Going into the main-chains, a steady sailor took 
the coiled-up fishing line, with directions, as soon as 
he saw the fish bolt, to give him all the line he could 
spare. I got into the main-chains, and as the brig 
was deeply laden, I could not have been more than a 
yard from the monster's back ; and a real monster 
he was; I sorely regretted not being able to take 
his measurement, as he was the largest one I ever saw 
or heard of. The sailors were clustered on the bul- 
warks, and on the lower stun-sail boom, alongside, 
and the shark rushed at them several times. 

Now, it is a great mistake in the natural history we 
read, to believe that a shark turns over on his back 
to seize his prey ; he does no such thing, but only 
turns over on one side ; but as he shows part of the 
white of the belly, many observers think that the 
animal turns over on his back when he rushes at any 
prey, but as I have often watched the peculiarities of 
this creature, I can affirm that it is not the fact, — the 
under jaw being so much lower than the upper one, 
he just turns up on his side to make use of the awful 
range of teeth that Providence has supplied him with. 
I merely relate this story for those who are fond of 
tales respecting the animal creation. 

I told the man who had charge of the coiled-up 
line, to pay away directly I fired, and going into the 
main chains, I fired, nearly at the same moment, both 



208 AN UNPLEASANT COMPANION. 

barrels into the nape of his neck. Away he bolted, 
plenty of line was given to him, and in a few minutes 
he was again under the starboard main-chains. The 
second time, I tried the head ; and the head was not 
more than two yards from me. I pulled both triggers 
of the gun at the same moment, driving two balls 
through his skull. This was repeated until I had 
fired fourteen musket balls into the monster's head 
and neck ; and although the water was tinged with 
blood, yet there was no perceptible difference in the 
strength of the shark. 

The last shot was an awkward one for me. The 
fish was so close under the main-chains, that I had to 
lean over to aim at him ; and exactly at the same 
moment a long swell made the brig roll over, and 
before I could lay hold of the main rigging, I fired, 
and was pitched into the sea, exactly in the spot the 
shark had just bolted from. I went down rather 
deep into the water, but rose again with my good 
John Manton (large bore,) and managed to scramble 
up into the chains again. I certainly did not fancy 
my bathing companion ; however, I was not hurt. 

The gun was wet and useless, and the locks of my 
rifle so wetted after handling it, that all firing was 
given up ; but the shark was again hauled alongside ; 
a rope was then rove through a block on the fore- 
yard arm, and a noose slipped over the monster's 
head ; but the loop slipped, and made fast close to 
the huge tail fins. All hands turned to, to hoist him 
on board, and out he went of the water, tail first ; but, 



AN OYSTER SUPPER PROPOSED. 209 

when he was a few feet out of his element, he made 
such a violent struggle, that notwithstanding the roj^e 
was a bran new two-inch one, the shark broke it, and 
went away with the noose round his tail, a hook with 
two lines fast to his nose, and fourteen musket balls 
in his head and neck. It cannot be supposed that 
the beast recovered, but I should much have liked to 
have measured him correctly, as he was the largest I 
ever saw. 

All sailors have a hatred of sharks, and I confess 
to a strong antipathy to them, for personal reasons, 
which it would take too much space to relate. 

After dinner, the captain and I used generally to go 
out on the heel of the jib-boom, and enjoy our cigar 
under the lee of the foresail, when running before the 
wind, and many a wild adventure he related to me of 
his youth, when on board an American privateer, 
during the last war. This afternoon, he came out as 
usual, for it was a dead calm, and the men had left 
off fishing, and some were curing fish. 

'Now/ said he, 'how long is it since you tasted 
oysters?' 'Four years,' was the reply. 'Then,' he 
went on, ' I propose that we sup to-night on oysters 
and stout.' ' Very well,* I replied ; ' but where are 
they to be had?' 'Take your spy-glass. Look at 
tliat projecting head-land, that looks like a dead man 
on his back. Well now, about three points to east- 
ward there is a bay, and I know a fine bed of oysters 
there, — not your rank, coarse, pearl oysters, but small 
natives, the shell being rather rougher than English 



210 WHISTLING FOR A WIND. 

natives. The very thought of them/ he continued, 
' makes my mouth water; so do, pray, whistle as hard 
as you can for a wind ! Hold hard !- Ill begin — now 
whistle away, the wind is sure to come/ 

Strange enough, after a few minutes whistling, a 
few cat's-paws were seen astern on the water, and the 
sails were soon asleep 1' ' Nothing like whistling for 
a wind/ remarked the captain, ' and that's a fact ; we 
shall have oysters and stout for supper yet/ 

And so we had; for we crept through the water so 
fast, that two hours before sunset we were in the 
oyster bay. A boat was lowered, — we started for the 
rocks, — it was luckily low water, and all hands had a 
good oyster supper. The oysters were very good, 
and far superior to the large, coarse pearl oysters, 
which, however, are very eatable when scolloped. 

At Realejo, it was a very common thing to buy a 
few dozen pearl oysters for the sake of a chance. A 
person is almost sure to find some pearl or pearls in 
every oyster he opens ; but it is not often that a good 
one is found. I was lucky enough to find a dozen 
very handsome ones, in a purchase of a dozen 
oysters ; but it is generally the custom to give them 
to any ladies of one's acquaintance who happen to 
be present. 

As it was too late to take in a Guayaquil river 
pilot at Poona, we came to an anchor, and enjoyed 
our oyster-supper (the first for some years). The 
river of Guayaquil is a fine large deep stream, and 
at the city itself is rather less in breadth than the 



GUAYAQUIL. 211 

Thames at Westminster. The city is on the left- 
hand side^ as you ascend the river ; fine quays, of a 
very great length, ornament the city, and are of much 
use to the shipping, for large vessels may remain 
alongside of them, moored to the rings on the Tvharfs, 
without taking the ground ; but Guayaquil has been 
described before, and I do not wish anv reader to 
accompany me over a stale trail. As natural history 
is ever varying, and is the science to which I am 
most attached, I have no scruples in making remarks 
upon animals, as every observer generally discovers 
something fresh ; and few persons have taken more 
trouble to make themselves acquainted with the wild 
habits of animals, than I did during a two years* 
residence in a wild forest of Central America. I did 
not see a shark in the whole river, and I could get no 
information respecting the great fresh water shark, 
so common further north in Central America. If 
there had been any, I think a back fin must have 
been seen out of the water; but I 7iever saw one — 
that is no reason, however, why the fresh water shark 
should not be there. I killed, once, an enormous 
fresh water shark, just in the entrance, or, rather, 
sortie, of the river St. Juan, from the great lake of 
Nicaragua^ he was fighting with another fish for the 
bones of our boatmen's breakfast, when I fired a ball 
through his head, and he took such a spring into the 
air, that he fell partly on the sandy spit of land we 
were breakfasting upon. He was of the class of 
* tiburo7i,' that the boatmen call ' tigre ;' but he was 



213- THE ALLIGATOE. 

spotted just in the same way as the pie-balled por- 
poise, that every sailor has seen. 

I trolled in the river Guayaquil for'a whole day for 
shark, and did not get a run ; but I am able to speak 
with correctness concerning the alligator. 

I believe the alligator attains, in the river Guayaquil, 
the greatest size it can attain on the western coast of 
America. I cannot speak of the Amazon, and some 
other rivers on the eastern coast, being imperfectly 
acquainted with them; and I also think that, on 
the north side of the great lake of Nicaragua, the 
alligators are larger than in the Guayaquil, owing 
solely to the whole coast being uninhabited, and the 
monsters attaining great age ; but I do not think 
that in any river, in any part of the world, more large 
alligators could be seen in a few hours than in the 
Guayaquil river a few miles above the city. 

The Indians who bring vegetables, fruit, and espe- 
cially pine-apples to market, in their slight canoes, 
have sometimes experienced terrible accidents by 
alligators overturning their fragile boats ; for although 
the canoe may be overturned by the accident of an 
alligator rising to the surface, yet if he saw a man 
swimming he would pull him down. 

The horses and cattle who feed near the banks of 
the river, have a perfect dread of going to drink, and 
an Indian told me it was curious to see them all go 
together to drink, about four o'clock in the afternoon. 
I pulled up in the ship's little ' dingey," to an island 
where a great many cattle were feeding, and I saw 



THE ALLIGATOR. 213 

the same thing that the Indian had described. The 
cattle and horses Tvere all collected together close to 
the water s edge, and began to make a great noise ; 
the horses neighing, and the horned cattle lowing. 
The part of the river close to the cattle was soon 
crowded with alligators, lying close in shore, with 
only the tips of their noses out of the water. The 
horses and cattle seemed to know by instinct that if 
all the alligators were close to them, there would be 
none a few hundred yards oflF, for they all at once 
separated, took a gallop off to some little distance, 
and swallowed a hasty drink. When an alligator is 
awaiting in deep water for cattle coming to drink, he 
always lies close to the beach, with only an inch or 
two of his nose above water. When the horse or 
cow stoops down to drink, he seizes him by the nose, 
and pulls him down, making use of the tremendous 
tail for stunning the animal. 

I never read any remark in natural history about 
the use that the alligator makes of his tail; but I 
assure the reader, who may be fond of that science, 
that I am correct, having seen it myself — three 
times. 

When the animal that an alligator seizes is stunned, 
he is dragged to the bottom of the river and drowned. 
The teeth of an alligator could not hite off a child's 
finger, bat could tear large strips of flesh from a bull. 
I watched an alligator at work one day, on the bank 
of a river in Central America ; and, although I knew 
a good deal of the animal's habits, was surprised at 



214 THE alligator's 'armour/ 

the way he was devouring a large calf that had been 
drowned by a flood. I saw him tear large strips of 
flesh that must have weighed seven or eight pounds 
each, with his claws and teeth, and then bolt the 
morsel, without much chewing. 

I have watched the habits of the alligator for a long 
time, and beheve that any man with ordinary presence 
of mind, and with a good hunting sword, without 
fire-arms, is a match for the beast. 

Much has been said and written concerning the 
impenetrability of the alHgator's armour, and also 
about the crocodile's. Now, never having fired at a 
crocodile, I cannot give an opinion ; but, having sent 
some hundred balls into alligators, I can fairly judge 
of their defences, and I must say that those defences 
are not so impenetrable as some very late authors 
have described. No doubt, if a ball is fired at a 
large alligator, and hits him on the back, but in a 
very slanting direction, the said ball would glance 
off, without doing the animal the slightest injury. 
Yet, still, I am certain that an iron cast ball, fired 
out of a full-charged musket, at twenty or thirty yards' 
distance, and hitting a large alhgator at right angles, 
in the centre of the back, which is the strongest part, 
would not only penetrate the armour of his back, but 
go out at the belly. A leaden ball would flatten if 
fired at the back, but that is not the place to fire at 
an alHgator. If a -rifle ball, (which must be of lead 
on account of the rifle grooves), is well aimed, it 
penetrates quite easily. ' - 



AN ALLIGATOR SHOT. 215 

It is not a certainty to hit an alligator in the eye 
(when moving) with a single ball, at only thirty yards, 
but if a man cannot hit him in the lower part of the 
neck at a much greater distance, he had better abandon 
his rifle and take to other shooting, with a smooth 
bore and small shot. 

The lower part of the side of the neck is the best 

place to be aimed at — rather under the centre of the 

neck, as the scales get smaller and thinner as they 

approach the throat, and yield to a stout thrust from 

spear or sword. A great quantity of blood issues 

from any wound on that spot, and soon destroys the 

beast. I remember once shooting an alligator on the 

north uninhabited coast of the lake Nicaragua, under 

peculiar circumstances. I saw him watching a small 

herd of deer that were feeding about two hundred 

yards off. Two or three times, he crept up the bank, 

and went twenty or thirty yards towards them, but as 

often did he return, plunge his body in the lake, and, 

resting his head on the low bank, remain gazing on 

the deer. I was in a canoe about forty yards off, but 

perfectly hidden, and I was doubtful whether to fire 

at the deer or the alligator. 

Two hundred yards is too much for the best Purdey 
rifle ybr a certainty, and so the muzzle was turned on 
to the alligator s neck, and the ball hit him just in 
the proper place. After a struggle he was quite dead, 
and on my going up to him I found that the ball had 
gone out on the other side, and yet the beast was of 
a tremendous size. 



216 SANTA CRUZ. 

The above may be admitted as a proof that the 
alligator is not a formidable adversary; but I have an 
utter contempt for the animal's courage and j)luck* 
In a tropical climate, daylight is almost instantly 
succeeded by utter darkness after sunset, except 
when the moon makes her appearance ; and as we had 
some miles to pull before we could get into a safe 
anchorage for the night, we could not haul the 
monster on shore, and measure him. 

The herd of deer could never have heard a shot 
fired before in their lives, for they merely looked up, 
walked gently a few yards further oflP, and resumed 
their feeding. 

Our good brigantine was moored alongside of one 
of the quays of Guayaquil ; most of the party took up 
their quarters on shore, but I remained on board, as I 
had a boat, and was more bent on shooting and fishing 
than paying visits. However, my first duty was to 
present myself and letters to the ex-president of Peru, 
General Santa Cruz. 

Being directed to a large house in the main street, 
I went in and sent up a card to his excellency. An 
aide-de-camp came out, and said that the General 
would be happy to see me. I went up, and found him 
in a large room with little furniture, but a sofa at 
the upper end, upon which he invited me to sit along- 
side of him. The room was full of officers who had 
evidently been paying their respects to him, but on 
my saying that I had letters for him, the room was 
soon cleared. 



INTERVIEW WITH SANTA CRUZ. 217 

He felt much gratified when I told him of the state 
of public feeling towards him in Peru, and, when I 
gave him my letters, asked very kindly after his old 
friends. - 

He evidently did not consider the chance of regain- 
ing his position a bad one, but at the same time did 
not wish to replunge his country into the horrors of 
civil war — of all wars by far the most cruel and 
desolating. 

At the end of our conversation, he pressed me to 
take up my quarters at his house — told me the hours 
of his breakfast and dinner, and hoped that, as a cover 
Y70uld always be laid for me at both, I would consider 
^ his house as mine,' not in the mere language of 
courtesy, but as a matter of fact. 

I, however, preferred the berth on board the 
brigantine, and told the General so ; for that I was 
fond of boating, shooting, and fishing, but that I 
would avail myself of his kind offer when I was ashore 
in the city. 

I saw him several times afterwards, and gained a 
good deal of information from him and the oflScers 
who had followed him into exile. 

Santa Cruz was a person certainly not likely to 
gain popularity by his personal appearance. He 
was above the middle height, rather stout, but his 
face was not prepossessing except in the expression. 
That expression was very good, but the skin was 
sallow and dark, and every feature, except the eyes, 
rather coarsely formed. His influence among the 

L 



218 OPINIONS OF SANTA CRUZ. 

higher orders in Peru was very great, owing to his 
maintaining the country in a state of tranquiUity; but 
his popularity, that amounted almost to worship in 
some parts of the country, was owing to another 
cause. ■ 

The pure Indians froru Cusco to the Lake Titipaca, 
in Bolivia, and as far as the city of Santa Cruz itself, 
looked on Santa Cruz as their natural chief, lord, and 
master. 

His mother was of pure Inca blood. His father 
was not; but he took his claim, acknowledged by every 
Indian, from his mother. 

He ruled the country when he was President, or 
rather Dictator, severely, but with perfect justice. 
Under his sway, the gangs of highway robbers were 
broken up. Oppression of the weak by the strong 
was put down with a stern hand, and the man who 
sowed knew that he would be able to reap at harvest 
time. Few things can say more in favour of Santa 
Cruz than that the well-known chivalrous General 
Miller was his chosen friend and follower, both when 
in power and in exile, I had a letter of introduction 
to the latter, also, but he was in Europe, and I have 
only met him once, by chance, since, in an Hotel on 
the continent of Europe, when I happened to have 
the letter in my portmanteau. 

General Santa Cruz sj)oke very moderately on the 
subject of party politics, as far as regarded the gene- 
rality of Peruvians themselves; but he spoke very 
bitterly against the Chilians, and severely blamed the 



THE POKT OF VALPARAISO. 219 

Peruvian- Chilian party for having aided the enemy to 
destroy the national prosjDerity; but nobody coald 
blame them more than a few of them blamed them- 
selves, when they saw the effect of their own in- 
trigues. 

Valparaiso, in Chili, had been for some years the 
* entrepot' of most of the goods and stores going to 
the northward on the west coast of America. From 
there, merchandize of every description went not only 
over the Andes to Mendoza, and even to the immense 
Tucuman and Catamarca districts, but also those 
goods stored in bond at Valparaiso, were sent to 
every port on the coast. 

Many merchants thought that Callao would be a 
better port than Valparaiso, and consigned their ships 
direct to that port, as they not only had Peru Proj^er 
for their market, but all the country on the other side 
of the Andes, reaching from the shores of the Maranon, 
or Amazon river, in the north to Potosi, and Chuqui- 
saca in the south. 

Callao increased in wealth and importance, and 
Valparaiso fell off. The Chilians became jealous of 
their sister republic, and made a claim against them 
for monies owing. They fitted out the expedition, 
and succeeded exactly in their different objects. The 
first object the ChiHans had in view was, to get rid, or 
make an external use, of a part of the army which had 
lately been in revolt, and had murdered the prime 
minister, poor Don Diego Portalis. The second was, 
to get possession of as much money as they could 

l2 



220 SUCCESSFUL POLICY. 

extort out of the country, both as payment of an old 
debt, and for new costs in enforcing it. But the last 
principal reason, though not ostensible one, was to 
destroy the trade of Callao for soroe time, by declar- 
ing the port in a state of blockade, notice being given 
to those ships that touched at YaliDaraiso that they 
would not be allowed to go into the harbour at 
Callao. 

If the merits of an unscrupulous foreign policy are 
always to be judged of by the test of success, the 
Chilian policy was good, because, and only because, 
it was successful. 

The ships coming round Cape Horn, that touched 
at Valparaiso, remained there ; those that had not 
touched, were allowed to enter the harbour on condi- 
tion of paying all custom-house dues to the Chilian 
officers. By these, and many other vexatious pro- 
ceedings, the trade of England and other foreign 
nations was driven away from Callao, and returned 
to Valparaiso. 

Santa Cruz made one remark that struck me verv 
much. He said, ' Suppose A and B each owe a third, 
much more powerful person, whom we will call C, a 
very large sum of money, but that A owes B a much 
smaller sum. Now, should A make verv costlv arma- 
ments, and go to great expense to make B pay by 
force, with all costs, when, at the same time, he de- 
nies C his money, and protests against being under 
compulsion to pay ? , Why the powerful C would 
naturally say— Pay me first, and then do what you 



FOREIGN HOSTILITY TO ENGLAND. 221 

like; but if you are destroyed by your fighting, who 
is to pay me ? This/ he said, ' is the case with Peru. 
Chih and Peru owe each a large sum to England ; 
and Chili presents an old claim against Peru; fits out 
an expedition, and squeezes out of the people, not 
only her claim, but the expenses of the said expedi- 
tion. Why did not England say at once, 'You both 
owe me money ; pay me first, before you squander 
your resources in a petty warfare' ? I could not help 
thinking that the case was strongly made out, espe- 
cially with such large English interests at stake. 
But, remarking that England could not interfere in 
private disputes, the answer was, that she is con- 
tinually doing so when it suits her purpose, or the 
views of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the time 
being. 

It is very true, however it may be accounted for, as 
well as deplored, that the friendship of all nations 
towards England, as a nation, has wonderfully dimi- 
nished. As individuals, the English have more inti- 
mate friends, and their integrity is more confided 
in, than the natives of any other country; but, as a 
nation, I am sorry to say, that for the last fifteen 
years there is hardly a people upon earth, certainly 
not excepting our own West Indian colonies, that 
would not gladly see our humiliation.* 



* One tHn^ I never could account for, thougli many per- 
sons do, and that is, the intense hatred that our West Indian 
planters bear towards England : there is no use disguising 
or denying the fact, and planters on their death-bed lay their 



222 AN OLD WRECK. 

As before remarked, Guayaquil is by far the best 
port on the whole west coast of America for building 
or repairing ships. The wood, although not oak, is 
of the very finest quality, and the following anecdote 
will vouch for its extreme durability. 

I was in a vessel at anchor in the Estero of Eealejo, 
when a brigantine-rigged vessel came into the port, 
and brought up. Oar captain proposed that we 
should pay her a visit, as he knew well both the 
vessel and her owner, who was likewise the captain 
of her. ^ Well, what do you think of. her ?' was the 
question when on board. I could hardly answer, for 
when on deck, she seemed built in a different wav to 
modern vessels, and looked inside more like a Dutch 
galliot than any other vessel. I then learnt her his- 
tory. Ten years before, her owner was in a small 
vessel off the Galapago Islands, when the hull of 
another vessel, dismasted, was seen. She was boarded, 
and presented a curious spectacle ; her hatches were 
battened down, and the deck and bulwarks- presented 
almost as curious a sight mboard as the hull did out- 
side — it was one mass of incrustation, formed by all 
sorts of shell-fish and weeds. When the hatches 
were taken off, which required great force, on account 
of the incrustation, the interior of the ship was found 
in a perfect state of preservation. There were papers 



premature decease to the unnatural parents who prefer slave- 
grown sugar, raised by foreigners out, of black flesh, and 
deny tlieir sons the means of procuring free labour from 
Africa. 



GOOD SHIP-TIMBER. 223 

and maps in the after-cabin that had not been soiled 
by water, and the documents and ship-papers found 
in her, proved that she must have been dismasted and 
abandoned more than fifty years. She was copper- 
fastened throughout, but not coppered. And yet, after 
floating about the Pacific, as the winds and waves 
drove her, she was actually as sound as the day she 
was built. The present owner told the men that, as 
the prize belonged to them all, he would purchase 
the vessel, on condition of their towing it into Guaya- 
quil. They agreed, and the vessel was taken up to 
Puna, and shipwrights set to work on her; but they 
were not allowed to go below, as they were told 
nothing was wanting.^ 

The ship was soon cleaned, and, strange to say, the 
vei^y caulking was sound. She was then coppered, 
and rigged as a brigantine, and has since proved a 
most valuable vessel for the coast trade. I could not 
help running my hunting-knife into the tafirail, to 
see the state of the wood, but the knife could scarcely 
pick a bit out. The vessel was as sound as on the 
day she was launched, and the wood much harder. 

It was found out, by looking over the registers, 
that the vessel had been built in Guayaquil, of first- 
rate wood (palo fino), and that she had been 
employed on the coast upwards of twenty years 
before she was lost. 



* I liave heard what was found below paid at least for the 
repairs. 



22i THE LAST PERUVIAN VESSEL. 

Now, here was a vessel that had done duty for 
twenty years ; for half a century she had been float- 
ing on the wide Pacific, at the mercy of the winds 
and waves ; she had been found, re-masted, and 
when she went to sea required ' no alterations! She 
ought to have been sent as a sample to one of our 
royal dockyards. 

There was one small vessel at anchor in the river 
Guayaquil, that was the only remnant of the Peruvian 
navv. She had followed the fortunes of Santa Cruz, 
and before the expedition sailed from ValjDaraiso, 
had been blockaded in Callao by two or three Chilian 
vessels. She lay snug under the guns of the castle, 
but now and then, backed ujd by a gunboat or two, 
she would go out and play at long-bowls with the 
enemy's ships ; but I never heard of a single shot 
striking, or of any mischief being done. 

It is astonishing how little harm is done, and how 
few casualties occur, in a sea-fight between ships 
that do not come to close quarters, and whose crews 
are not well drilled to their guns. 

I was witness of a sea-fight once, and if I had had 
the choice of any situation for viewing one, could not 
have selected a better. It was at Gibraltar, and it 
happened about the end of November, 1825. 

During that period, the Spanish coast was much 
molested by privateers, bearing flags of Columbia 
and other new republics of South America. These 
vessels were generally fast-sailing schooners, built in 
the United States, and manned usually by Enghsh- 



A PRIVATEER IN SIGHT. 225 

men and Americans, with a sprinkling of other 
nations. One of these schooners had for a long 
time taken refuge under the guns of Gibraltar. She 
hoisted Columbian colours, was very fast when close 
hauled on a wind, and was commanded by a Scotch- 
man, of the name of Cunningham. Taking a ramble 
on the rock one afternoon, I arrived at the south part 
of the top ridge of the rock, where ' O'Hara's Folly,' 
or rather its ruins, stands. Looking towards Malaga, 
I saw a schooner close hauled on the starboard tack, 
staggering under a heavy press of sail, and heading 
on towards the rock, the wind being from the west- 
ward. With my glass, I easily made her out to be 
the above- mentioned schooner. Looking to the 
westward, I saw a large fleet of small craft, of all 
sorts of rig — latines, feluccas, mysticos, ^tc. — and 
escorted by four men of war, — as I learnt after- 
wards, two eighteen-gun brigs and two fourteen-gun 
schooners. At that time, all the small craft outside 
the gut of Gibraltar were obliged to assemble at 
Cadiz, and wait for an escort to go to the eastward. 
It was evident that neither party saw each other, for 
the rock was between them. The fleet was sailing 
down before the wind, with the escort under short 
sail, when, just as they got abreast of Euro^^a Point, 
they discovered the privateer within half-a-mile of 
them. The privateer, when she saw them, tried to 
edge away, so as to cross their bows, but, finding 
she could not do it, bore up before the wind. 

The two brigs made sail ; one outsailed the other 

l3 



226 SPANISH COWARDICE. 

and the privateer also, going free ; but — and I am 
almost ashamed to write it — when she found that 
two minutes more would bring her alongside of the 
enemy, she let go her royal and top-gallant halliards, 
to wait for her consort brig. The privateer, seeing 
that, luffed sharp up to the wind, and passed her 
about one hundred yards apart, both vessels engaging 
with their starboard guns and with musketry. 

The other Spanish brig was just far enough to the 
southward to allow the privateer to hold on her 
course, close hauled on the starboard tack, and 
engage with the larboard guns. He still stood on, 
and engaged the two Spanish schooners ; after which 
he ran right through the small fleet, and after going 
again before the wind a short time, hauled close to it 
a second time, and engaged all the vessels over again. 
The Spanish vessels behaved in the most dastardly 
way; for they could at any time have brought the 
privateer to very close action, — which, with such 
odds, would soon have rid those seas of a most 
determined and voracious enemy, who had taken up 
his quarters in the very heart of their naval com- 
merce, — but the privateer made his way right into 
Gibraltar Bay; and he would not have put in, if it 
had not been for an accident, and that the only one 
that took place in all the fighting. The captain had 
his hand so badly shot, that he ran into the bay to 
have it amputated. 

The report of the Spanish officer in command was, 
that the privateer ran away so fast that nolody could 



WRECK OF THE PRIVATEER. 227 

catch him, and that nobody was hurt on board any 
ship. At all events, the above anecdote goes to 
show that with undisciplined crews, the damage of 
a sea-fight is very small, unless they get to close 
quarters. 

I saw the whole fight myself; it was witnessed by * 
several officers, and many soldiers quartered near 
Europa Point, and the dastardly conduct of the 
Spaniards was looked at with roars of laughter from 
the men. 

However, the elements, a few days afterwards, did 
for the coasting trade of Spain what these four men- 
of-war failed in performing. On the night of the 6th 
December, 1825, one of the most dreadful gales of 
wind in the memory of man, wrecked more than three 
hundred vessels in the Bay of Gibraltar, and among 
them, this very schooner. Being very sharp in the bot- 
tom, and drawing a great deal of water, she grounded 
some way from the shore ; and when morning broke 
and discovered her position, the Spanish soldiers 
began firing at her, and sent for more troops. The 
captain was in hospital at the time, and though the 
weather had moderated, yet all the boats were stove 
in. Luckily, the schooner had heeled over from the 
shore, which served to protect the men, but they had 
no means of escaping. Then, two English officers, 
of the 23rd Eoyal Welsh Fusileers, went ofi", and 
though fired heartily at by the Spanish soldiers, 
managed to tow a boat under shelter of the schoonei% 
and at last were able to get the men off. 



228 A GOOD LUNCHEON PREPARED. 

The name of one of the gallant fellows was Tupi^er ; 
poor fellow, he was killed in Spain ; and the other, I 
believe, was Captain Sloane. 

But I must beg pardon of the reader for having 
taken him some 76° of longitude, and some 36° of 
' latitude, out of his road. ^ 

This Peruvian vessel managed to escape from the 
blockading squadron, during one of those dark misty 
nights, followed by a dense haze in the morning, so 
common in Peru, and gained the river Guayaquil. 

I will now relate a tale that belongs more legiti- 
mately to this work, and that, I trust, is over fresh 
ground. 

One morning, I took an early breakfast, hauled a 
small dingey alongside the brigantine, and put into 
it a basket containing a really good luncheon, both 
in the eating and drinking department; also a 
double-barrelled rifle, a double smooth-bore, with 
plenty of ammunition for both, and some fishing- 
lines ; a small keg of water, and a small ma-st, and a 
small lug-sail, — a pair oi small sculls completed the 
equipment of the small dingey. It was a grey cloudy 
morning, and such mornings are far more common 
close to the line than a few degrees to the north or 
south of it; but still every now and then the enor- 
mous mountain of Chimborazo might be seen rearing 
its stupendous head far above the clouds. 

I started by myself, and sculled for a couple of 
hours up the river, but I cannot say there, was much 
diversity of scenery, for after the first two miles there 



AN ALLIGATOR SHOT. 229 

was little to be seen but a thick forest on either hand, 
with a fine broad, deep stream. The wind being fair 
in one of the reaches, I stepped the little mast and 
hoisted my little lug, lighted my cigar — (mem.) a neces- 
sary article for health in those countries, but not in 
England. — and, placing my two guns handy, steered 
along the bank on the right hand, going up river. 
The banks were quite wet and slimy in many places, 
occasioned by the alligators climbing up them. How- 
ever, I found I was sailing too close to the shore to 
get a shot at any of them, as they all plunged into 
the water as the boat ajDproached, so I sheered off a 
little, and ran along the bank about twenty-five yards 
from it. 

Going very little more than a mile an hour, I cast 
two fishing lines over the stern ; but as the only fish 
I caught were the nasty cat fish, with moustachios, I 
soon pulled them up again. There were a good many 
alligators on the bank, but I was looking out for a 
very large one before I fired, which would frighten 
those in the vicinity, — and at length I did see one. 
He was lying lazily on the slope of the bank, partly 
on his side, and exposed the whole of his throat and 
belly. I watched him for some little time before the 
light breeze brought me abreast of him, and I must 
own he looked a teazer to have anything to do with ; 
but I knew well that all alligators are arrant glutton- 
ous cowards, and I gave him a rifle ball in his throat. 
He struggled a good deal to regain his legs, as he 
was on his side when I fired, and at last he succeeded, 



230 HOW TO KILL A SNAKE, 

though the blood was pouring out from the wound. 
When on his legs he dashed into the water, and 
made straight for my little boat ; but I am convinced 
it was only chance that sent him in that direction, 
and that he had no evil designs ; however, he came 
straight on, when, taking up the smooth bore, I gave 
him the two barrels in his face, and down he went, 
and I saw no more of him, which I was sorry for^ as 
I wished much to have measured him. 

I calculated his size from three or four that I 
shot within an hour afterwards, and they measured 
from nine to eleven feet ; but this one so far surpassed 
them in size, that I do not think I exaggerate when 
I say he measured sixteen feet in length, but he was 
of a far greater girth, in proportion, than the others. 

I was just thinking of mooring my boat to the bank, 
and taking an excursion into the forest to look after 
deer, where the underwood did not appear so thick, 
and directing my way back by a remarkably high tree, 
when I saw a very large snake taking a walk along- 
side of the water on the top of the bank. The un- 
dulating motion of his walk was just like that of a 
ship in a long swell, but I could not make out what 
sort of a snake it was ; so I sent a barrel of small shot 
into its head, and pulled on shore. The big brute 
was not dead, but showed fight; however, I cut a 
long switch with my hunting sword, and soon settled 
him with a few blows on the back of his neck. 

It is a common creed in England, and indeed in 
all Europe, that the way to disable a snake is to hit 



A SNAKE KILLED. 231 

him on the tail. One might just as well put salt on 
it. I have cut off a rattlesnake's rattle, tail and all, 
as he was passing, and he went away just as well, to 
all appearance, as ever. But a few raps on the back 
of the neck will stun any snake, of whatever size. I 
could not make out what sort of a snake it was, but 
it was about nine feet long, and as thick as my arm. 

I cut off his head, took it into the boat, and began 
to dissect the upper jaw. I saw directly that the 
snake was a venomous one, for he had moveable 
fangs, which were still projecting after death, and it 
required some little force to bend them back with the 
handle of the knife. I had just pulled out one of 
them, poison bag and all, when a canoe ran alongside 
of me, paddled by an Indian, but with a padre 
sitting in the stern-sheets, who asked me what I was 
doing. I showed him the head of the snake that I 
was dissecting, and, as I was still moored to the bank, 
went ashore, held up the snake as high as I could 
reach, and asked the cura if he knew it. He said 
No, but the Indian said, ' Malo ! muy malo !' But I 
could not learn the name of it. It was of a dark 
variegated brown on the back, and light grey on the 
belly. 

This meeting was one out of a great many that 
have occurred to me in strange places, that I look back 
to with much pleasure, — not the meeting with the 
unknown snake, but the good old padre. I invited 
the cura to take his noon meal with me, and asked 
him the same question he asked me before, — viz., 



232 PREPARATIONS FOR AN EXECUTION. 

what he was doing on the river. He repUed, ' Alas ! 
my friend, I cannot break my fast yet ; I will eat with 
you by and by, but at present I am fasting and wait- 
ing for one of my parishioners, who will be brought 
up here from the city in a few minutes to be shot, on 
-the spot where he committed the crime for which he 
has to die.' ' What was the crime, padre T I inquired. 
/ He ill-treated a woman on this side of the river/ 
he replied; ^and she swore that her male relations 
would avenge her, but he cut her throat to silence 
her tongue. He was seen by some -children who 
knew him. He was seized, tried, and condemned^ 
he will be shot before half an hour can elapse, and 
may the Lord have mercy upon his soul !' 

'See!' he continued, 'there comes the procession 
on the river. One, two, three ; yes, three large boats, 
— let us leave the shore, and when they pass follow 
them, for I must have one word with the wretch, be- 
fore he dies. He is now under the care of the friars, 
but I am his cura, and they will let me speak to 
him.*. I unshipped my little mast, made all snug, 
and the procession soon passed us. The first boat 
contained (besides the pullers) only monks. The 
second boat contained the prisoner, the firing party 
of four, a magistrate, and the prisoner's confessor, who 
sat next to him. The third boat contained a small 
detachment of soldiers. 

The place where the murder had been committed 
was not more than a quarter of a mile from the spot 
where the snal^e was killed, and on the other side of 



AN EXECUTION. 233 

the river was a small straggling village of which my 
companion was the cura. 

The boats sto23ped opposite the village, and on the 
river bank on the village side, a great number of 
Indians and half-casts were assembled, but not one 
person on the bank where the execution was to take 
place. The padre went ashore, and made his way to 
the prisoner, and had a little private conversation 
with him. However, the magistrate remarked that 
they had a long Avay to row back, and that they had 
better finish what they had to do. So, immediately, 
a little bench* was taken out of one of the boats and 
placed against a tree on the bank ; the prisoner was 
then told to sit down, which he did, and his poncho 
was tied over his head ; he seemed very unwilling to 
leave his confessors hand; but the latter slipped his 
hand away, and went aside. During this proceeding 
the poor curate was on his knees in his canoe. The 
firing party came up to within three yards of the 
prisoner, and, on a signal, fired their four carbines into 
him, and knocked him off the banqueta. He was not 
dead, but I think not sensible — however, he was put 
up again on the banqueta, resting against the tree, 
and the next volley put every doubt out of question. 

A canoe came over from the opposite shore and 
took the body away, and the soldiers and monks 
rowed back to the city. 

When they were all gone, I pulled up to the good 



* The ' Banqueta.' 



234 A DUCK-PIE. 

cura, and asked him to take some refreshment, as he 
seemed perfectly done up. 

He invited me to come ashore, and pay him a visit 
at his parsonage, which I did, taking care to carry 
my prog-basket with me. 

Both the cura and I^ had been fasting ; — he from 
rehgious motives, and myself because I had not been 
able to find time ; but, both being sharpset, vre did 
wondrous honours to the luncheon provided by our 
famous Jamaica artist, and when I poured out a 
tumbler of champagne for the worthy ' cura,' his 
admiration was enthusiastic and without bounds; yet 
he had no idea of exceeding. After we had discussed 
our cold chicken and tongue, and also a dish that 
only wants to be known, to be adored by a gastronome 
— that is, a duck-pie, seasoned with large green chilis 
— the worthy host placed three or four very fine pine- 
apples on the table, and, as I knew that a beautiful 
moonlight would succeed to the daylight, I was in no 
hurry to change my quarters, — being very well armed, 
and feeling that confidence that a roving life of some 
years, when a man must depend upon himself, must 
naturally give to anybody. 

So the padre and I lighted our cigars ; and many a 
curious tale he told me, chiefly relating to the Indians 
and their communications with head quarters, — but 
the stories were so witty in that genuine humour, free 
from all indecency, but not quite free from what we 
in England would call coarseness, for which we should 
be laughed at in Spain ; but so congenial to the 



A CONVIVIAL PADRE CURA. 235 

Spanish language, that I could have stayed hours 
more listening to the good old man. 

He made two or three attempts to speak English ; 
succeeded a little better in French ; but when I tried 
him in Portuguese, his intense contempt of the 
language and people was as ridiculous as his attempt 
to mock their pronunciation. 

Few persons have ever been in the company of any 
Eoman- catholic priest (always excepting the Jesuits, 
for they are far too knowing, and well bred) without 
being led into some discussion respecting points of 
belief. 

But the complaints of my friend were very different 
from what I expected ; they turned entirely upon the 
lamentable superstition of the Indians. 

When I told him our principal points of belief, 
and he saw in how few points we differed from his 
religion, he was quite astonished ; and, still more so, 
when I told him that the Bible and the holy Tes- 
tament were our sole guides. He said that he had 
been taught otherwise, and he was glad to find out 
that he was wrong ; but that any heresy of ours was 
nothing to be compared to the horrible superstitions 
of some of the Indians up the country. He then 
went to a sort of writing-table, fitted up with a few 
drawers, and pulled out a paper, which he begged me 
to keep, and he told me that in the interior — not of 
his desk, but the country — many of the same stories 
might be collected. The papers he gave me, he said, 
were left with him some years before by a padre 



236 A 'LONG PULL.' 

from the 'Eio Negro/ I pat the papers into my 
pocket, and continued a most agreeable conversation 
with the padre until rather late, when, the moon 
being uj^, I took my two guns, and went down to the 
boat, accompanied by the cura. He gave me his 
blessing, and a light fcH: my cigar, and, taking the 
sculls, I began pulling fifteen or sixteen miles home 
in a dead calm. 

During my pall home, I heard one roar on the 
surface of the water, and I concluded it was an alli- 
gator, for Mr. Waterton often speaks of the alligator's 
roar in the night ; but I am not sure what it was ; 
and, although I lived two years afterwards in the 
midst of their haunts, I never heard one roar; so, 
perhaps, it was a panther. However, I have such a 
respect for Mr. Waterton and his opinions, that I 
have always considered those opinions as coming 
really from his heart and soul. 

I got alongside of the brigantine at about midnight, 
and was glad to turn in to my berth. The next morn- 
ing, remembering the paper my good clerical friend 
had given me, I opened it after breakfast, and read 
a very curious story. The only thing that makes me 
hesitate in pubhshing it is, that it may he in print 
before, although I have never seen or heard of 
it. The story was written in Spanish, with French 
remarks on the margin, evidently made by a French- 
man ; and inside the envelope was part of a French 
translation. I will translate the story literally, and 



THE padre's story. 237 

if I have committed piracy, which is not improbable, 
but certainly unintintional, I am sorry for it, and will 
make any ' amende honorahle ' required. The paper 
is as follows — whether it belongs to me fairly, or not, 
I cannot say, but at all events it is curious : — 

' One of my predecessors in the parish (on the Eio 
Negro, which has its source on the other side of the 
mountains, and runs into the Maranon) had disco- 
vered that his parishioners adored a god of their own 
creation, who was no more or less than an old Indian, 
whom they had dressed up in a strange fashion, and 
installed in a rancho, where they offered him not 
onlv their adorations, but all the first-fruit of their 
industry and their fields. 

^ This deity, who did no work, and enjoyed every- 
thing of the very best that could be procured in the 
village, found this mode of living uncommonly agree- 
able, and acted the impious part that had been thrust 
upon him with the greatest good will ; but the cura, 
on his part, was determined not to suffer such infa- 
mous and sacrilegious proceedings. He preached to 
his flock, and reasoned with them both in public and 
in private ; but nobody listened to him : he threatened, 
and was answered by threats. 

* In this state of affairs he scarcely knew what to 
do, but at last decided upon adopting another course, 
and, pretending to approve of the conduct of his 
parishioners, he encouraged them in the folly that 
had seized them. 



238 THi 7.^:?.!^ ^r:?.T. 

^ At length, the holy weA arnvf : ?.: ^ /_ ::iif 
many ceremoni^; are observed :li:: call to remi^Qa- 
l : -It : '_ t s fr rings of Jesos Ci. : : - : 

' C i: G::d Friday, the cnia g --irie :' : f ~"i '.f :: 
the ccif:fr?.:::i :og€lfli^ and after a.i: :L:;;;:rS5:Te 
sermon, detailing all the tiii^ .. f~T:-:s :: : .i: 
memorable week, conclnc-T:: " ;^: tslt :_:: :::e 
pai^on and death of on: ^ : : si::.'.:. ':: It re- 
sented by their Indian god in lersii. Li: lii:. 
first/ eontinaed the cnra, 'be cr: ; r I ^i:":: :: ::is; 
then let Imn be weU flagellated. :i :: '.:.s:[", '_-: im 
le ::u::frl Af^er !- :s dead -i 'y:.::::.. -i:^:--: 



such a ;'.:r::::::::::. He :1:-j. zi:-:"-i a tT::: 
Ct- ^ : _ ::-i at last was :: .^eraczr" 
i_^ :.'.'. :'^i : _e against :_:f high digni:; 

beenraise:! ::. e^..'. :_/,: Lr "es L::Mnpf lb-.:.: : 

ahlesi„L7:, — -■-.::-- :_e I_i:T.LS :_.;." ^u: jl.-; 
excessive 1. _::l:ty, 

' What will :-■-.-_ : :' .: ?^ :::;.:: ::. ;.r : 
same eve::.:!: ir. ■:::... :'--: I-:-.':;..:- : : : ■: iown ti 
and i- :: 1:1 :'~: :_ : . ^7 Li : 

the body :.'.'. :..;.: i:....:. :':e ^ :..:/,;.- :::.'. -.':.: 



THE PADRE*S STOEY. S3 9 

night, — but awaited with the greatest anxiety the 
breaking of the third day (Easter Sunday) to witness 
the resurrection ; but at this period the corpse showed 
such signs of decomposition, and became so very 
offensive, that the Indians began to entertain serious 
doubts respecting the immortahty of their god ; yet 
still they were resolved to await the expiration of the 
third day. At last, they plainly saw that no visible 
resurrection could possibly be expected, and in their 
indignation, threw the corpse out on a dung-heap, 
where the vultures soon made away with it. 

' From that moment they submitted, with a remark- 
able docility, to the spiritual guidance of the cura/ 

I have translated the above history, nearly word for 
word, and am sorry if I have made use of a story 
that may belong to some one else. On the margin 
of the paper was written, sideways, ^Don — Mont- 
gomery. 183.' 

I wished much to have paid another visit to my 
good friend the cura, up the river, but we were obliged 
to run down the river to Poona, to take in shingle 
ballast, which I was rather glad of, as the coast and 
country round about are very wild. However, I was 
perfectly disappointed in my expectations of finding 
game : there is no sporting worth mentioning, for I 
do not call shooting alligators sporting. I like to 
kill them, for they are such mischievous beasts, but 
there is no sport in shooting at them. 

We beat down the river to Poona, and landing our 



240 A GOOD SUPPLY OF OYSTERS. 

pilot, steered on for a shingly beach, more to the 
westward ; and while the men were employed taking 
in enough shingle ballast to enable the brigantine to 
stand up to the squalls that may be expected north 
of the line, I went with the captain and a couple of 
hands, to lay in a good store of oysters. We took 
tubs with us, and when they were filled we poured 
sea-water up to the brim, and so managed to have 
oysters for luncheon and supper, for many days. 



241 



CHAPTER XIV. 



HAEBOIJES OF CENTEAL AMERICA — HUREICANES, AND THEIE 

EFFECTS — CLIMATE, FEUITS, ETC. /,! V^ 

REALEJO is the only safe harbour at present in 
Central America. There are several others 
which may be considered safe, and are so for two or 
three years together, — but every now and then a 
tremendous hurricane shows clearly enough that a 
roadstead which is not land-locked is not always to 
be depended upon. These observations are made 
with respect to the chapter in this work dedicated to 
the cutting of a great water communication between 
the Atlantic and Pacific. The heavy northerly winds 
that blow during four months in the year with great 
violence, would never hurt any port (to be constructed) 
in the Bight of Papagayo, as the wind would blow off 
shore ; but sometimes, on the coast, a hurricane will 
go round the compass in twelve hours. I will relate 
one of the most remarkable escapes from shipwreck 
that I ever heard of. I was standing on a headland 
with an old half-pay lieutenant of the Navy, and we 
were talking about the security of different bays in 
the great bight, with respect to harbours. He then 
and there told me the following rather curious 

M 



842 A TREMENDOUS HURRICANE. 

account of a hurricane, the effects of which he had 
experienced afloat; but I will repeat the story as 
nearly in the narrator s words as I can remember. 

^You see that large bay, with a small cluster of 
rocks and islands, on the north-west point, nearest 
to us ? Well, two year.s ago, I was bound to Eealejo, 
from Panama, and was on board a well-found mer- 
chantman, of 350 tons. We had just arrived at the 
southern promontory of the bay, when it fell a dead 
calm, but a tremendous ground-swell kept rolling 
into the bay. The barometer also fell lower than I 
ever had seen it in these latitudes. The captain, 
knowing that I was an old naval officer, consulted 
with me, and in a very short time the ship was under 
close-reefed topsails, foretop-mast staysail, and close- 
reefed spanker. The courses were close reefed, and 
then furled, and everything made snug. We had no 
time, either, to spare, for the gale came on as soon 
as we had shortened sail, and in the same direction 
as the swell of the sea — that is to say, right into the 
bay. In half an hoiu' the sea had got up frightfully: 
the mizen topsail was soon furled, and the spanker 
and topmast staysail were saved ; but the hurricane 
had increased to such a pitch, that the main and fore- 
topsails were blown clean out of the bolt ropes, and 
split into thousands of shreds. The sea was running 
awfully high, and making a fair breach over the ship, 
having carried away almost all the weather and lee 
bulwarks, and there did not seem the slightest chance 
of saving the vessel. No anchor or cable could have 



A SUDDEN REPRIEVE. 243 

held her for one minute, and it was at length resolved 
to run the ship on shore at the furthest end of the 
bay, near a clump of cocoa-nut trees, with a sandy 
beach. The foretopmast staysail was run up, the 
helm put hard up, and she payed off. 

'We were now running before the wind,' continued 
the narrator, ' with an awful sea following us, and the 
beach we were going on to was about two miles right 
ahead. We could see that the surf was tremendous, 
but we knew that the sands were smooth, and the 
water pretty deep to the very shore itself; and we 
trusted to a heavy wave throwing us so near to dry 
land as to enable us to save our lives. 

'I was standing,' went on the old officer, *with the 
captain, alongside of the man at the wheel, and had 
just remarked to him that five minutes more would 
decide our fate, when a loud flap was heard forward, 
and we saw the fore stay-sail aback, paying off the 
ship's head from the land. The hurricane had shifted 
to the exact opposite side of the compass, and doubled 
in its fury. 

' Such a sudden reprieve was felt by all of us as, we 
could fancy, if we had been sentenced to die, and for- 
given at the place of execution ; but it was still very 
doubtful whether the vessel could get out of her 
position, although a hurricane was blowing in her 
favour, against the tremendous sea that kept rolling 
into the bay. The fore-topmast stay-sail still held 
good. The topsails had been blown to rags, but two 
men were sent on to the fore-yard to loose a wing of 

M 2 



244 A NARROW ESCAPE. 

the fore course ; but it was blown to ribbons directly 
it was loose. However, the men were told to loose 
^^the whole sail, and come off the yard, and although 
the sail was soon in rags, yet the vessel gathered way, 
and got off shore ; but as she neared the mouth of the 
bay, the heavy sea, dead agaiDSt her, made her pitch so 
awfully, that her foremast gave way about two feet 
above her deck housings, carrying away bowsprit and 
maintopmast. We then tried the main course, but 
the vessel was quite ungovernable, and we were 
thrown into a small canal between an island and the 
main land, where we cast an anchor out a-head, and 
another astern. 

' The next morning I went over a great part of the 
bay in a small boat, and there was nothing but a long 
ground swell to recall to mind the danger of the pre- 
vious day. 

^ Our escape from death,' my friend concluded, ' was 
miraculous. Had the change of wdnd taken place 
five minutes later, it would have been death to us, 
instead of salvation, for it would have destroyed all 
our attempts at saving ourselves.' 

I like narrating narrow escapes related by others, 
but, for very obvious reasons, do not like to mention 
my own escapes. 

I have now brought the reader to the almost un- 
known part ef the world called ^ Central America,* and 
as r believe that that country will shortly be called 
into a new existence, by the creation of a great w^ater 
communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific, 



FRUIT IN CENTRAL AMERICA. 245 

passing through that land, a few remarks on the 
country, and on the works proposed, will, I am sure, 
be acceptable to many persons who are interested in 
cutting the proposed canal. 

Last year, I published a work on Central America, 
called Wild Life in the Interior of Central America^ 
of which the public were kind enough to approve 
not, most likely, on its own merits, but on account of 
its beingyr^^A, and relating to unknown ground. 

I give my last chapter to the public for the same 
reason, and that is, to make that publi6 acquainted 
with a country little known, and to place before the 
men of business in England the difficulties that must 
be encountered, but that may be vanquished, in the 
great undertaking of cutting a large ship canal. 

Before I begin my chapter on the canal, I should 
like to make some remarks on the peculiarities of 
the climate and country of Central America, for the 
benefit of those who may have to make it a residence. 

I think one of the best illustrations of the vagaries 
of a cHmate, is the following: — vines are known to 
grow in most very hot climates ; but, in Central 
America, I only saw two vines, that had been planted 
by Mr. Manning, of Leon. One of them was very 
sickly, but the other bore ripe fruit, young green 
fruit, and flower, on difierent branches. One branch 
was in full leaf and fruit, while another one was only 
budding. The seasons were all mixed in one ]?.ftnt. 
The above was the only vine I ever saw in Central 
America that ever brought forth a bunch of fruit. 



246 FRUIT IN CENTRAL AMERICA. 

Oranges grow large, and some are at maturity 
almost all the year round ; but they grow with such 
an enormous thick rind, that they are a very poor 
class of fruit. 

There is literally no good fruit in Central America 
but the melon, sown broad-cast in the fields ; but still 
they are not half so good as the melons grown in a 
more moderate temperature. 

I saw an attempt to grow a patch of wheat on the 
hot low grounds ; it grew up magnificently to the 
height of eight or ten feet, but was only good straw. 
I planted some up in the colder country, but still the 
climate was too hot ; and the wheat sprang up very 
strong, but without any ear — which wont do. 

Potatoes will not grow. I have seen yams tried in 
a garden, but with very doubtful success. Vegetables 
in general fail; and the only ones that I can recollect 
that are really healthy, are of the gourd kind. 

Even the deUcious fruit, the mango (I mean the 
East Indian one), is here dried up into a stringy 
fruit, sticking between the teeth. The pine-apple is 
stringy and dry; and yet the climate is most certainly 
the moistest, for eight months in the year, in the 
whole world. 

How strange it is to compare the coast of Peru, 
where it has never* rained since 1746, to a country 
only a few degrees of latitude north, and where a 
shower is truly a drencher ; and yet the Peruvian 
fruit is a thousand times finer than the produce of 
Central America ! 



THE GREAT WATER COMMUNICATION. 247 

But I wish much to discuss with the reader who 
has followed me so far, the principal object of the 
work, and without further excuse will proceed to 
relate what I know to be facts, concerning the great 
water communication between the two oceans. 



248 



CHAPTER XV. 

WATEE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC AND 

PACIFIC. 

IT ought fully to be understood by all parties who 
contribute in any way, either by influence, per- 
sonal co-operation, or subscription of capital, to a 
water communication between the Atlantic and the 
Pacific, that the said communication should be avail- 
able to all nations ; not only with regard to the right 
of passage, but with respect to the size and depth of 
the canal, which ought to be able to float a first-class 
ship. 

If English capitalists and merchants do not insist 
upon the latter point, they will find themselves de- 
ceived. 

A canal might be cut with English capital, and 
when finished, might be found big enough only for 
vessels of two hundred tons, while the beautiful fleets 
of Messrs. Green, or Wigram, Smith, or Somes, may 
continue to go the old way round the Cape, although 
those gentlemen may have subscribed to the under- 
taking. 

With a small canal, the whole of the transit trade 
would fall into the hands of the Americans, who would 
reap the profit sown by British capital, as they are 
now doing in Cuba. 



WATER COMMUNICATION. 249 

It is for the interest of the North Americans that 
the canal should be small ; just accessible to their 
coasters, but not to our large East India and China- 
men. A large canal would be of incalculable benefit 
to commerce in general, and the reader who has been 
kind enough to accompany me on so long a voyage, 
may now meditate on the probability of its accom- 
plishment. 

Let us set out with the principle, that the canal, if 
it is to be cut at all, must be of such magnitude and 
depth as to allow vessels of the largest size to pass 
through without taking the ground ; and then let ns 
consider in what part of the world the canal should 
be cut. 

One place proposed was the isthmus of Tehuan- 
tepec, but that scheme, got up during the furious 
speculations of 1845, was evidently not mature. 
Several modes of execution were proposed, and the 
number of locks alone calculated at one hundred and 
fifty. The scheme is abandoned ; but if any person 
wishes to obtain any information on the point, he 
can get it by reading a survey of the Isthmus of 
Tehuantepec (now open before me), by Don Jose 
de Garay, published by Messrs. Ackerman, of the 
Strand. I disagree in every respect with the pro- 
jector; but it does not follow that I am right. As I 
may be wrong, the reader is referred to the work 
itself. 

Two other projects remain to be discussed. Let us 
examine which of the two seems preferable, and then 

M 3 



250 WATER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 

let US see how the chosen one can be most easily 
executed. 

From Ohagres to Panama, is the first route that 
was ever proposed. The one / consider the most 
feasible is from the Boca St. Juan of Nicaragua, to a 
bay in the Bight of Papaguay. 

Let us consider first the Panama question. 
At the first sight of the map, a mere child would 
exclaim, ' Oh ! how short a distance to cut !' And so 
it appears ; but it is well known, that there are often 
many objections, in all stations of hfe, to ^ short 
cutsj 

The entrance into the river Ohagres is very foul. 
Several rocks dot the bed of the bar, and would be 
always dangerous. But the defect on the bar has 
nothing to do with the other difficulties of the Panama 
a question ; for it would be very easy to cut a canal 
into the river from a bay about five miles off, that 
might, by a breakwater, be made a first-rate harbour. 
The actual depth of the cuttings would be very 
nearly the same in Panama as in Nicaragua; but the 
great difficulty would be finding water to fill the 
canals and locks in a Panama cutting. The lake of 
Nicaragua is about 130 feet above the level of the sea, 
and would give an unlimited supply of water. Again : 
let us even suppose that an East Indiaman had been 
able to arrive at the western coast, near Panama — 
she could not leave it, for the water is so shallow. 
Any deepening of the water would be choked up with 
sand in a few weeks. 






THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC. 251 

I say nothing of the unhealthiness of the chmates. 
Ohagres and the Boca St. Juan are about on a par. 
The west coast, for several degrees north of Panama, 
is equally pestilential; but the country round the 
upper part of the lake of Nicaragua is moderately 
healthy; and would necessarily be the head-quarters of 
the operations after they had reached a certain point. 

The want of water and the shallowness of the 
western coast, seem to have deterred speculators from 
having made any further progress in the scheme given 
to the public some years ago ; and their attention has 
been turned to the more feasible, but still difficult 
project, of cutting a great ship canal through Central 
America, in the province of Nicaragua, and making use 
of the river St. Juan, together with the great lake. 

It is upon this project that a few observations may 
be acceptable, not in any way to discourage the pro- 
jectors, but merely to point out a few of the difficulties 
and dangers that must attend the undertaking, and 
only require to be known that they be fairly met with 
and overcome. 

I lived two years myself in the interior of this 
country, and know it and the people pretty well. 

I feel, therefore, that, with this knowledge of the 
country and people, my remarks may be taken in 
good part. 

Mr. Bailey, an ex-officer of the British service, 
with his son, had been some years employed in sur- 
veying the whole country, including the lake, the 
river St. Juan, and the coasts. His surveys, together 



\ 

A 



253 WATER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 

with a valuable map of the country, are being now 
published by Mr. Trelawny Saunders, of Charing 
Cross. I have examined them, and,' as fft as my 
knowledge of the country goes, they are very correct. '^ 

Let us suppose that Central America is to be the 
field of operation ; that all preliminaries are gone 
through; that the consent of the Central American 
Government has not only been gained, but well 
guaranteed ; and that the conditions are favourable 
to all nations. And now let us look at the difficulties 
that will attend the very first outset, supposing, 0/ 
course^ that the survey has been so well made and 
digested, that the men may be set to work in a short 
time after the arrival of the ship, or ships, at the 
Boca St. Juan. 

We will also, of course, suppose that the expedi- 
tion has brought, either from England or the United 
States, every modern improvement in machinery, or 
mode of working, for deepening rivers, excavating, 
cutting, or tunnelling; but the principal question is. 
What labour has been brought ? What workmen are 
there? 

If the managers trust to the labourers of the 
country, they may just as well get up their anchors 
and go home again ; for I know the working class 
well, and I also know that the kindest and most 
liberal employer cannot depend upon them for a week 
together. 

Mr. B , who was the kindest of kind employers, 

and who owned a large sugar estate, called San 



THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC. 253 

Antonio, told me that often a large portion of his 
workmen would leave work for no reason but their 
own wiRms. They were better fed, less worked, 
* better paid, and that in ready money (a rare thing 
in Central America, where wages are generally paid 
in goods that give one hundred per cent, profit) ; and 
yet, away a whole gang would walk, and, perhaps, 
return, after they had spent all their money, to ask 
for employment. If they behave so to a good master, 
who employs them on light, dry work, what will they 
do when working in black mud, among alligators, 
snakes, and myriads of blood-sucking insects ? 

Without doubt, good assistance may be obtained 
from native labour, but it cannot he depended upon, 
English or North American labourers are out of 
the question. There would not be one alive, or, at 
least, fit to work, in a week from the first spadeful of 
earth turned up — a Mississippi mud-lark could not 
stand it. 

There is a long, flat piece of sandy ground on the 
right side of the harbour, going into the river, that I 
suppose would be made head quarters at first. There 
is also a clear piece of land on the left-hand side 
going in, but it is a fatal place to dwell on. Old Mr. 
Shepherd, who is so well known on the Mosquito 
shore, told me that, at first, he had tried that shore, 
but that he buried his people so fast, that he was 
obliged to shift over to the other side. It is on 
the right hand side going in, I suppose, that the 
operations will commence, and where the overseers 



254 WATER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 

and surveyors of the work will take up their nightly 
quarters at first ; but still the question is, Where is 
the labour to be found ? 

You cannot depend upon native labour for a week 
together, and, even when they do work, it is lament- 
able to see how little they do ; you cannot depend 
upon English or North American labour, for the 
work would kill the labourers in a week; you cannot 
depend upon work from the West Indians, because 
they would not go to work, and would be great fools 
if they did, for they are pretty nearly at present in 
possession of their late owners' estates ! 

What labour can, then, be really depended upon ? 

I am afraid that there is only one answer. You 
must depend upon voluntary labour from the African 
coast. You may make use of native assistance as 
much as you please, and you will get more of it when 
it is clearly iinderstood that you are not dependent 
upon it. 

The Kroemen of the African coast would never 
volunteer for such work, they prefer ship-work on the 
coast, saving their money and buying two or three 
wives ; but plenty of volunteer labour can be obtained 
on the coast, and if the labourers are made comfort- 
able during the passage, and are faithfully and well 
treated after their arrival, they are just the class of 
men to do the work, not only without injury to them- 
selves, but with much advantage. 

No doubt some kind-hearted old lady will exclaim, 
when she hears of a ship-load of black labourers being 



THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC. 255 

engaged to work, — as she sweetens her cup of coflfee 
with a lump of sugar from Cuba or Brazil — the said 
coffee and sugar, by-the-bye, being manufactured out 
of black blood, black sinews, and black sweat — ' Oh ! 
how horrible to take these poor dear blacks and set 
them to work ; it is a sort of slave trade/ 

However, it is no such thing. Those volunteer 
workmen, if they were engaged for a limited term, — 
say three or four years, — at fair wages, with an under- 
taking to give them a free passage home, and if the 
whole agreement was so well guaranteed as to render 
the execution of it certain to be honourably fulfilled, 
the condition of those labourers, on their return to 
their own country, would be far superior to their 
countrymen who remained at home. 

This sort of free labour was tried to be carried into 
effect in some of our West Indian Islands, but through 
some spite in the Colonial Office it "vtas forbidden, 
without any reason or justice. But in this undertak- 
ing, if free black labour is required from the African 
coast, the Americans will not pay the Colonial Office 
the compliment of asking leave to pay a man a day's 
wages for a day's work, which was actually denied to 
our rained planters. 

Upon that work the directors and managers may 
safely depend, and assisted by clever overseers and 
foremen from England or the United States, this 
great undertaking would succeed, and would scarcely 
cost half the money that it is now estimated at. 

It must also be borne in mind, that native labour 



256 WATER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 

can be very much more easily procured from the lake 
to the Pacific, than it can be near the river St. Juan. 

The first thing to consider, after a supply of labour, 
is the nature of the ground to be cut through be- 
tween the mouth of the river and the great lake of 
Nicaragua. The lake is about one hundred and thirty 
feet above the level of the Pacific, and I believe a 
little more above the Atlantic. - 

On each side of the river St. Juan, is an immense 
dense forest, composed of most enormous trees, which 
overshadow as thick and impenetrable a jungle of 
matted underwood as can be met with in the whole 
world. For almost the whole length of the river, I 
doubt that any man has ever been twenty yards into 
the forest on either bank, and am pretty sure he could 
not have been one hundred. 

This forest is full of wild beasts and snakes of all 
sorts, and Indian report says that some of the larger 
snakes are far more powerful than those nearer the 
Western Coast. The vapours that arise from the 
banks of the river, where the leaves have been rotting 
for thousands of years, is pestilential and deadly, even 
to Central Americans, 

The wood and forest must be cleared away for some 
distance on each side of the river, and that work may 
be very much aided by the native labourers, who are 
first-rate axe-men and bill-hook workmen. The roots 
must be extracted, and the whole burnt; when, I 
believe, the ground on each side of the river will 
prove very nearly on a level, and only a few feet above 



THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC. 257 

the river. I judge from the tops of the trees appear- 
ing so level in long reaches of the river. 

If the above suggestions have succeeded, and cer- 
tainly there is no reason why they should not, a 
canal in aid of the river is of the easiest execution ; 
a very few locks being necessary to raise a ship above 
130 feet, and those locks would always be served by 
the great lake above their level and also by the river 
itself, which in some places would float any ship. 

As far as relates to the cutting of a communication 
from the Atlantic to the Lake of Nicaragua, it is the 
simplest of works, and only requires energy and 
labour to be depended upon. 

As for the overseers and foremen of the works, if 
they had been acclimated, and spoke Spanish, so 
much the better; but their situation at first would 
not be very enviable. It would improve very much 
when the works had been carried on as far as the 
lake. They would find themselves in a purer, 
healthier air, and they might meet with some com- 
forts that they had before been deprived of. 

The next process would be buoying the lake; that 
would be easy work, and scarcely to be mentioned as 
a dijB&culty. 

But the real difficulty will be in cutting through the 
hills that separate the lake from the plains below. 
This is the only difficulty in the whole project. 

Two ways have been proposed; one to cut clean 
down from top to bottom, making very slanting 
banks ; and the other, to cut a canal and tunnel 



258 WATEE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 

capable of floating a first-class vessel with her lower 
masts in. I know, from experience, how difficult 
both operations are, in a country where the rain 
comes down, not as in Europe, in drops, but literally 
in sheets ; but, after much consideration, and with a 
knowledge of the country, I really believe that the 
cutting would be child's play, in comparison with the 
late railway bridge over the Straits of Menai. 

This small range of hills, I repeat, is the only diffi- 
culty in the whole undertaking, and may be easily 
overcome by labour to he depended upon. This last 
is the only aid that is not to be procured without 
trouble and expense ; for if an accident happened, 
such as a land slip, and the dependence was upon 
native labour, the enterprise would have to be given 
up, for on the loss of a life or two, all hands would 
strike, and leave the work of months to be destroyed 
by a few days' rains. 

From the western foot of the range of these hills 
is almost a dead flat, and a canal might be designed 
and laid out by any common workman. 

On arriving at the Pacific, deep water is met with, 
and there are many spots in the Bight of Papagayo 
that would make good harbours. 

One project was to go through the lake of Managua, 
or Leon, and terminate the canal in the gulf of Con- 
chagua, also called Fonseca, but a mere sight of the 
map will show the objections. 

On the sea-coast, if the opening from the canal to 
the sea is through a clear sandy beach, it is likely to 



THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC. 259 

be not very unhealthy; but if the junction is further 
to the north, and is connected with the pestiferous 
creeks, or ' esteros/ near Eealejo, few Europeans will 
be able to resist the vapours that rise from the black 
slimy mud, that at low water lies round and about 
the arched roots of the nasty mangrove trees. 

Now let us recapitulate the difficulties of the under- 
taking. They may be divided into four parts, without 
mentioning the harbours on the two oceans. 

Firstly, — Cutting a communication to float a large 
ship, partly by canal, and partly by deepening the 
river from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

Secondly, — Buoying ofi* the lake for large ships 
towed by steamers, to the entrance of the western 
canal. 

Thirdly. — Cutting through the range of hills that 
is near to the lake, which said cutting is the only 
serious obstacle. 

Fourthly, — Cutting a canal from the western foot 
of the range of hills to the Pacific, which is quite 
easy. 

Let us take for granted that every preliminary has 
been carefully adjusted, every treaty or negotiation 
concluded to the satisfaction of every nation, and the 
capital subscribed or forthcoming, and lastly, a bind- 
ing treaty entered into with the Nicaragua govern- 
ment, and guaranteed by three or four powerful 
governments, such as England, the United States, 
and France. 

For executing the first portion of the work, from 



260 WATER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 

the Atlantic to the lake, dejpendence on labour is all 
that is required. 

If you trust to native labour, you will be de- 
ceived. 

If you trust to European or United States labour, 
the deaths will soon undeceive vou. 

If you invite the West Indian negroes to work, 
they will give you a verse of a well-known nigger 
song for answer. 

The only way is to get free -labour from Africa ; to 
keep the labourers comfortable during their passage ; 
to have a few interpreters ; to fulfil strictly every ob- 
ligation ; and, when they have worked the time they 
have agreed for, let them be taken honourably home, 
free, and with all their earnings. 

As for some persons saying that they disapprove 
of such proceedings, the Americans will laugh at 
them, even if those persons filled high places in 
office ; for they say, fairly, that if a man chooses to 
come and work for wages, they do not see why he 
should not be employed, because he is black instead 
of white ; but, perhaps, it is better not to mention 
arguments that raise angry feelings. The fact is, 
that if England does not like, free-black labour, the 
Americans will take the work out of English hands 
for their own benefit. They will send to the coast of 
Africa, and get passengers on the same terms that 
English emigrants go out upon ; and any inter- 
ference on the part of the Colonial Office, that has 
paralysed our colonies, would be laughed at with 



THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC. 261 

utter contempt — not only by Americans, but Eng- 
lishmen, who would with shame be obliged to cover 
an honourable operation under a foreign flag. In 
the second portion of work, the buoying off the lake 
is no hard work, and, as well as No. 1, may be con- 
sidered easy to accomplish. 

No. 3, is the great difficulty ; but with labour that 
the directors of the work can depend upon, I am certain 
that the operation willnot be diflScult to accomplish. 

No. 4, is nothing more than a common operation. 

I have now finished my remarks upon cutting this 
great canal, which is so much required, and which 
must soon be undertaken. The Americans are more 
likely to undertake it than the English ; but, without 
doubt, the best way would be to make the undertaking 
an universal one, instead of a party national one. 

I am as perfectly convinced of the feasibility of the 
project, as I am of my own existence, and I believe 
the canal might be cut for much less money than 
will be required for the entire completion of the 
railway tube joining Anglesea with the main land. 

Many difficulties are in the way ; but they are 
mostly occasioned by national jealousies. 

One dozen honest men from England, France, and 
the United States, and who had the confidence of 
the mercantile men of their respective nations, might 
settle the whole question in a few days, — and we 
might hear, in three years, of the fine Chinamen from 
Blackwall and Newcastle going through the canal in 
four days. 



262 WATER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 

Often and often I have been on high mountains, 
taking a sort of bird's-eye view of the splendid 
country ; thinking what might be made out of it, but 
concluding with ' what a lazy set of do-nothings this 
people must be, to exist in such a low state with so 
many natural advantages/ 

This great work will be done, but it will be effected 
by Anglo-Saxon energy, perseverance, and capital. 

If anybody expects assistance from the Central 
Americans, he must know nothing about the people 
or the country, 

I have done now with my chapter on the cutting 
of this canal. I repeat again, that merchants and 
capitalists ought to see that the canal should be of 
such large dimensions as to enable the largest ships 
to pass; and if governments have anything to do 
with the affair, they ought to provide for the passage 
of the largest men-of-war. 

A fair way for such governments as England, 
France, and the United States, would be to subscribe 
for so many shares each in the undertaking. Their 
subscription would be guarantees. 

There is no time better than the present ; there are 
no wars disturbing the peace of the world, and Eng- 
land has at the present moment a peculiar prepon- 
derance, that may entitle her, together with the 
United States, to take a lead in the undertaking, and 
invite other nations to subscribe, or not, as they 
pleased. No company ought ever to be a,llowed the 
monopoly of the transit, or to be permitted to fix the 



THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC. 263 

price for the passage of a ship^ for in that case the 
shares would soon run up to as enormous a price as 
those of one or two of the London companies, who 
possess the exclusive privilege of supplying London 
with a foul smelling, offensive liquid, that they call 
water. 

In conclusion, I must say that I am certain that 
one-half of the money that was spent on the London 
and Dover Eailway, would finish a magnificent canal 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

The tunnels alone on the Dover road, are far 
greater works than anything required in this under- 
taking. 

I have now finished my book, and this last chapter 
has been written with a view that I trust will meet 
the acceptance of those gentlemen who have long 
been looking forward to this great project being 
undertaken. 

Any inquiry that any of my readers may make, 
will be answered, as far as it lies in my power, if it 
be addressed to me through Mr. J. W. Parker, West 
Strand. And I will conclude my unpretending work 
by giving a few words of advice to those persons 
whose business or love of adventure may lead them 
to Central America. 

There is no use in taking saddles or bridles into 
the country ; the traveller will find them suited for 
that country at Grenada or Nicaragua, and better 
still at Leon, where good copies of my good Chilian 
saddles were made. 



264 ADVICE TO TKAVELLERS. ^99^' ^ 

If a person can only take one gun with him, a 
double-barrelled smooth bore, fit to carry ball, is 
better for him than a double rifle. Let him take a 
pair of pistols of the same bore as his gun, with a 
bullet mould. Let him furnish himself with a strong 
hunting sword, of about twenty-four inches length in 
the blade, with a waist-belt, a pair of strong leather 
gaiters, coming over the knee, with boots that may 
defy a snake. Let him remember never to touch 
water when he is warm with exercise, as he will 
surely get ague by even washing his hands or face. 
Let him be temperate; but whenever he has had a 
severe wetting, take a small glass of spirits and 
water. Let him, when engaged early in the morning 
amidst the pestilential vapours that arise on every 
side, smoke a cigar; but let him never exceed^ or the 
probabihty is that he will never see his native country 
again. And, lastly, let him, as far as possible, trust 
to his own courage and energy. 

I have brought my reader to the end of his journey. 
I have tried not to carry him over a stale trail, but to 
induce him to follow me over fresh ground. I trust 
my endeavour to promote the great canal will not be 
entirely useless. 



THE END. 



h\ 



